


Some Lessons Can't Be Taught

by orpheous87



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Bickering, Enemies to Friends, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Forced Proximity, Getting Together, H/D Erised 2019, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Nightmares, Post-Second War with Voldemort, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2020-12-20 17:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21060446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/pseuds/orpheous87
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their eighth year. They hadn't thought about Malfoy and his gang returning as well, or what would happen if there was no room in their old houses for them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gnarf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnarf/gifts).

> Gnarf, I have loved every minute of writing this and I hope it fulfils expectations! I took one of your suggested prompts, along with some inspiration from an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and hopefully I've written something you'll enjoy!
> 
> To my beta: Thank you for everything! You are awesome!

"I can't believe you convinced us to come back, Hermione," Ron grumbled as they filed into the Great Hall in the middle of a crowd of students. 

"Getting our N.E.W.T.s is important," Hermione insisted, looking over her shoulder at Ron. "We'll be glad of them when we get them." 

"_If_ we get them," Ron muttered, shaking his head. 

Harry grinned beside him. It was their first day back at Hogwarts for their eighth year, and despite everything that had happened the previous year, and all of the work that had gone into repairing the castle at the end of the battle, September 1st had arrived, and they'd found themselves boarding the Hogwarts Express as they had done since they were eleven. It felt familiar to Harry, comforting, almost. He'd felt nervous about stepping foot into the castle for the first time in seven years, and he couldn't help but wonder how things would work out. 

Once they were on the train, he, Ron and Hermione had kept to their own compartment, joined by Neville, Ginny and Luna as usual. Harry had been struck by how uneventful the journey was, which made him realise that it was the first journey that _had_ been uneventful—every other year, they'd been interrupted by all manner of people for various reasons. He had no idea who else from his year was returning for their final year, though of course, he knew a few who wouldn't be. 

Watching as all of the students, from seventh year down to second, took their places at the house tables, Harry had another realisation—there were now five tables in the Great Hall. Frowning, he turned to Hermione. 

"We've got our own table," Hermione said softly, correctly predicting his question. "I asked Professor McGonagall when I replied to her owl. Everyone who should have… everyone in the eighth year will sit together. There isn't room for us at our old house tables." 

"Are we still _in_ our old house?" Ron asked warily, also turning to Hermione. 

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "Professor McGonagall didn't say, and I didn't ask. We might have a house of our own." 

Ron shook his head immediately. "No. They wouldn't do that," he said. "I'm a Gryffindor!" 

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ron." She tutted. "A change will be good for all of us." 

"Speak for yourself, Granger," a disdainful voice came from behind them. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned as one, and Harry immediately felt his face arrange itself into a scowl. "What do you want, Parkinson?" he asked. Pansy stood behind them, Draco at her side, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott slightly behind them. 

"I want you lot to bloody move," Pansy said, wrinkling her nose. "You're blocking the way and we're getting hungry." 

"Didn't expect any of you lot to be back," Ron said, glaring at Draco. 

"We could say the same about you," Draco replied coolly. "What's the matter, didn't the Aurors want you after all?" 

"How— never mind that," Harry said, catching himself before he could ask the question on his mind. "We wanted to finish our education." 

Draco snorted. "Of course you did, Potter," he said. "You keep telling yourself that." 

Harry made a move as though to lunge for Draco, but was stopped by Ron flinging his arm out. 

"Don't," Ron muttered. "McGonagall is watching." 

Draco glanced over his shoulder. "That's right, Potty," he said quietly. "Don't want to get yourself into trouble before the Sorting has even happened, do you?" 

"Get lost, Malfoy," Ron said before Harry could speak. "You stick to one end of the table, we'll stick to the other, all right?" 

"Suits me," Draco replied with a shrug. "I'd rather not be put off my food every day." 

Harry growled softly as the group of former Slytherins pushed past them and made their way to the emptiest table at the far end of the hall. 

Ron, once he was sure that Harry wasn't going to make a grab for Draco, released Harry's robes and glanced at Hermione. "Come on," he said, heading for the same table as Draco and his gang, but sitting at the other end of it. 

Dropping onto the bench, Harry glared down the table at the back of Draco's head. "I can't believe he came back," he said.

"I can't believe Mummy and Daddy _let_ him," Ron replied. "Do you think he's got other reasons for being here?" 

Harry shook his head. "Nah. He doesn't have what it takes to be a proper Death Eater, does he?" 

Ron shook his head. "What do you think, Hermione?" 

"I think," Hermione began calmly, "that you two should forget about Malfoy and his friends for once. Leave them alone, and they'll leave us alone." 

Harry snorted softly. "Yeah, right," he mumbled. "When has that ever worked in the past?" 

"It hasn't, but that doesn't mean it won't work now," Hermione said pointedly. "Things are different now, Harry. We should, I don't know, make an effort with them." 

Ron laughed loudly, making everyone at the eighth year table turn their heads. "Nice one, Hermione," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. 

"I'm serious, Ron," Hermione said with a scowl. "We need to change things. Stop perpetuating the house rivalry!" 

Harry stared at her. "You can't be serious?" 

"Why can't I?" Hermione challenged him. "Because you two are too stuck in your ways so you think we all are?" 

"I…" Harry said, quailing under Hermione's stern look, "It's not that, it's… well, you know what they're like." 

"No, Harry, I don't," Hermione said. "I know what they _were_ like. All of that back there could have been bravado for all you know. Do _you_ feel the same as you did?" 

Glancing at Ron, Harry shook his head hesitantly. "No," he said quietly. "I don't know how I feel." 

"Exactly," Hermione said. "Think about it. All of that before could have just been an image." 

"All right," Harry sighed. "I'm not promising I'll get along with them, but I'll give them a break."

"Me too," Ron added, grudgingly. He glared down the table for a moment before sighing.

Hermione watched them both beadily. "Good," she said, before turning her attention back to the front of the hall. 

Harry caught Ron's eye and they shared an unhappy glance before Professor McGonagall strode into the hall, carrying the familiar three-legged stool and old, worn Sorting Hat. Harry craned his neck to look at the first years, smiling slightly as he remembered the feeling of standing there, unsure of what to expect. 

"They're all so small," Hermione whispered, also craning her neck. 

"Yeah… is it weird that I kind of wish I was back there with them?" Ron asked, a wistful look on his face. "All their lives ahead of them, no fear of going through what we went through." 

Harry shook his head. "No," he said. "I wouldn't mind starting again sometimes." 

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look but didn't say anything as the Sorting Hat began to sing, and the attention of every student in the hall was on it.

***

After the Sorting and Welcoming Feast had taken place, Professor McGonagall stood up and moved to stand behind the lectern that stood in front of the teachers' table.

"Your attention please!" she called. 

Slowly, the raucous chatter that filled the Great Hall began to die down as the students turned to face the front again. 

"Thank you," Professor McGonagall said. "Now that you have all eaten your fill, I have a few announcements to make. First, I would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds. Secondly, as I am sure you all have noticed, we now have an extra table in the hall. We are joined by many students who had their final year at Hogwarts disrupted by the events of last year. They have returned to complete their N.E.W.T.s and, as such, form a fifth house. This is unprecedented for Hogwarts, and I ask that you all bear with us as we adjust to the new way of life here." 

Harry shifted slightly in his seat as he felt every pair of eyes in the hall turn in the direction of him and his fellow eighth years. He was aware that everyone else at the table was doing the same, suddenly uncomfortable with all the extra attention. 

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat again, drawing the attention of the hall once more. "I would also ask that those students who were lucky enough _not_ to be involved in the battle respect those that were and do not harass them with questions. While they may still have a loyalty to their former houses, the students now belong to a new house—Alliance. Though it is not a traditional Hogwarts house, it will be treated the same as any other house, however, it will not be eligible to win the House Cup due to lower numbers. Those students in the eighth year, please stay here, everyone else, you may go to your common rooms." 

There was a great commotion as the rest of the school got to their feet, talking loudly as they made their way out of the Great Hall. Harry kept his head down, hoping not to catch anyone's eye. Glancing up through his eyelashes, he could see that most of the other eighth year students were doing the same. They were all in the same boat now, whether they liked it or not—whether they were on the same side during the war or not. 

Professor McGonagall approached the head of the table as the last of the stragglers left the hall. 

"Welcome back, all of you," she said. "We are pleased that you made the decision to return and complete your N.E.W.T.s. As I have just said, you are now all in the same house. Unfortunately, though we would have liked to keep you all in your original houses, the fact is there just wasn't room for you. A new, temporary wing has been built during the reparation of the castle, and this wing will house your common room and dormitories—there is one female dormitory and one male. You will have access to all of the school facilities such as the library and the grounds including the Quidditch pitches. While Alliance is not eligible to win the House Cup, I see no reason that you cannot have a Quidditch team if you want one. It will be left up to you to decide if you want to take part in the Quidditch Cup. While you are in attendance, there will be a Mind Healer at your disposal and you will have access to the hospital wing at any time you feel you may need it. I would prefer that you all attend classes as normal, after all, you are here to learn. But, if you are struggling at any time, please speak to either your teachers or myself, we are prepared to make allowances for those that need them. Now, although you are all of age, we do need to have a Head of House and it has been decided that Professor Grubbly-Plank will return to us and take the position. She will also be taking your Care of Magical Creatures class, though Hagrid will continue to teach the rest of the school." 

There was a slight murmur among the students as they took in everything Professor McGonagall was telling them. 

"Professor Slughorn will continue to take Potions classes," she continued. "Along with Professors Sprout and Flitwick continuing their classes. We are, unfortunately, without a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor once more, however, given everything that has happened in the last year, we believe that you are all capable of studying for this particular class on your own. That said… Potter." 

Harry looked up in surprise, feeling the stares of his new housemates. "Y—yes, Professor?" 

"I realise that it is unorthodox to ask you like this, but it has been suggested that _you_ could supervise study sessions," Professor McGonagall said. 

Before Harry could answer, a loud, derisive snort sounded from the opposite end of the table. Harry glared at Draco. 

"No offence, Professor," Draco began. "But I don't think people would approve of Potter teaching classes." 

"He wouldn't be teaching classes, Mr Malfoy," Professor McGonagall replied calmly. "You would all be expected to participate in self-study sessions, but Mr Potter would be available to assist anyone who needed it." 

Draco met Harry's glare with one of his own. "And why would we take his advice, Professor?" 

"Mr Malfoy, I am sure that I do not need to remind you of what Mr Potter has achieved during his time at Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall said, her voice turning cool. "He is more than capable of giving advice worthy of any teacher. It may only be a temporary measure; we are still looking for a professor." 

"You don't have to listen if you don't want to, Malfoy," Harry retorted, still glaring down the table. "I didn't think you cared about Defence Against the Dark Arts that much anyway." 

"Well that just shows what you know, Potter," Draco spat. "You might have got top marks but I wasn't that far behind." 

"Gentlemen, that's enough," Professor McGonagall interrupted before the argument could get too out of hand. "Potter, do you agree to supervise study sessions?" 

"Yes, Professor," Harry nodded. "I do. It'll just be a bigger version of the D.A." 

Professor McGonagall ignored the snort Draco gave and smiled at Harry, nodding once. "Indeed, Potter," she said. "I will provide you with a copy of the teaching recommendations for N.E.W.T. level, but I am sure that you will all have covered most of it in a real-life scenario last year." 

Harry nodded too, still glaring at Draco, though his glare had now turned smug. 

Draco held Harry's gaze, a disgusted look on his face. 

Professor McGonagall eyed them warily but turned back to the rest of the eighth year students. "Are there any questions?"

Harry glanced around, surprised that no-one—not even Hermione—put their hand up. 

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "If you would all like to follow me, I will show you to your new common room. Your trunks will all be in your dormitories, though you may wish to rearrange where they have been put."

The students stood up and prepared to follow Professor McGonagall as she led them out of the Great Hall and through a door to the left of the entrance hall. Harry recognised it as the antechamber where he had waited to be sorted all those years ago, but now it led along a corridor. 

Professor McGonagall stopped walking as she reached the end of the corridor. "The entrance to your common room will be guarded by a portrait," she said. "Similar to the Gryffindor common room, you will need to give a password before you will be admitted. The first password of the term is _'Unity'_." 

As she spoke, she turned to the portrait of a fat, balding wizard who was wearing what looked like a nightdress. He inclined his head towards Professor McGonagall and then swung open to reveal a cosy-looking room. 

Professor McGonagall led the way into the room, stopping in the centre to wait for the students to assemble. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked around as they entered the room. It wasn't quite as cosy as the Gryffindor common room had been, but it looked comfortable enough. There were several plush-looking couches and armchairs scattered throughout the room, with many gathered around a sizeable fireplace. 

Along the back wall of the room, there was a large bookcase full of thick textbooks and to one side, a noticeboard that already had several notices pinned to it. Lining the walls were oil lamps, casting a soft glow into the room.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and smiled. Though he was sure he would miss the familiarity of the Gryffindor common room, he thought that a change really might be for the best. 

Looking around again, his gaze fell once more on Draco and his friends. They were standing in a small huddle just inside the door. Harry could see that Pansy was looking around and trying to appear disinterested in the room, but he could tell that even she was impressed. He lifted his gaze to focus on Draco, realising for the first time that he didn't seem as self assured now. He might have been willing to start an argument with Harry under Professor McGonagall's nose, but now he was looking distinctly out of place surrounded by former Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. 

"Professor," Hermione spoke up. 

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall replied. 

"Well, I was just wondering, what do we do about robes?" Hermione asked. "I've still got my Gryffindor ones on…" 

"You haven't, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "As you entered this common room, your robes were transfigured to display your new house colours."

All of the students looked down at their robes in surprise. Instead of their familiar house crests and colours, their robes now had a deep purple lining and the Hogwarts crest.

"Oh," Hermione said softly. "They're lovely."

"For once, I agree with you, Granger," Pansy said, causing Draco, Theo and Blaise to look at her in surprise. "What?" she asked, glaring at them all. "I've always liked purple." 

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

"What's the matter, Malfoy?" Harry asked, catching the movement. "Missing your snake?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Draco retorted, scowling at Harry. 

"Gentlemen, please at least _try_ to get along," Professor McGonagall said with a sigh. "You are now members of the same house. You need to set an example to the younger students."

Giving Draco one last glare, Harry gave Professor McGonagall an annoyed look. "I can't promise anything, Professor." 

"Neither can I," Draco added, wrinkling his nose at Harry. "But as long as my bed is nowhere near _his_, I'll be fine." 

Harry snorted derisively and looked back at him. "Same here." 

Professor McGonagall sighed again. "Speaking of beds," she began, "shall we proceed to the dormitories?" 

"Yes, please," Hermione said, nodding enthusiastically. 

Harry and Ron nodded too, along with most of the other students. 

"Very well," Professor McGonagall replied. "Boys, you will stay here for a moment. Ladies, please follow me." 

Hermione and the other girls, including Pansy, fell into step behind her as she led them through a small doorway to the left of the entrance. 

The door closed behind them, and the boys were left alone in the common room. Harry glanced at Draco, Blaise and Theo warily, before turning to Ron. "What do you think?" 

"Well, it's no Gryffindor, but… it's nice," Ron said, looking around the room again. "Those sofas look comfy." 

Harry nodded. "I like it," he said. "I thought I'd miss our old common room, but maybe I won't." 

Draco snorted softly from his place. "Oh, please. Potter, this is not a greetings card. You don't have to be nice about it if you don't want to be." 

"Who asked you?!" Harry retorted, whirling round to face Draco. "I'm perfectly happy, thank you!" 

Draco raised an eyebrow. "A little testy though, aren't you? I was simply making a point." 

"Yeah, well, we don't need you making snide remarks," Harry replied. "We're all going to need some time to get used to this." 

"I agree," Draco said, shrugging. "And I'll have you know, that this is actually preferable to the dungeons. Those dungeons used to get quite cold in winter." 

"You had a fire," Harry said, wrongfooted by Draco's comments. "Didn't it keep the place warm?" 

"Only to a certain extent," Blaise said, speaking for the first time. "The common room was quite spacious and the fire was only in one part of it." 

"Well, what did you do in the other bits?" Ron asked, unable to help himself. 

"Warming Charms." Blaise shrugged. "And blankets." 

Harry and Ron glanced at each other. Before either of them could say anything, the door opened again and the girls reappeared, followed by Professor McGonagall. 

Eyeing the boys suspiciously, Professor McGonagall crossed the common room to a door that was opposite the one she'd just come from. "Boys, this way, please." 

Harry and Ron followed, watching as Draco, Blaise and Theo joined the end of the line.

Pushing the door open, Professor McGonagall strode into the room and waited for the boys to join her. 

Harry looked around as he walked into the room. 

"We decided to keep the four-poster beds, in the interests of privacy," Professor McGonagall said, watching as the boys turned their attention back to her. "You are free to decorate your bed's area as you like, though please be respectful of your roommates." 

Harry glanced at Ron again, before looking over his shoulder at Draco, who happened to be looking back at him. Flushing, he turned back to Professor McGonagall. 

"Now, as I said earlier, your trunks have been brought up, but you may wish to rearrange yourselves," she continued. "Through the door at the opposite side of the dormitory is your bathroom. There are two shower cubicles, a toilet and a sink. It was decided to give you your own bathroom facilities, again, in the interests of privacy."

Harry found himself nodding in agreement. He was sure that he wasn't the only one who had scars he would rather not discuss with strangers. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head slightly to see both Draco and Blaise nodding, along with a few of the others. Biting the inside of his lip, he found himself thinking of everything that had happened last year and how Hermione had probably been right—none of them were the same anymore. 

"If you'd like to follow me back into the common room," Professor McGonagall said as she made her way to the door again.

Once they were all assembled in the common room again, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. Harry looked at her and realised that her eyes were oddly bright. "I know that things will be strange for you all after last year," she said, her voice suddenly much less formal. "Please do not bottle up your feelings. Talk to each other. If you can't talk to each other, talk to the Mind Healer. They will be arriving at the school in the morning." 

All of the eighth year students nodded their heads without meeting anyone else's gaze. 

"Now, classes also begin tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said. "Your timetables will be distributed during breakfast in the morning. For now, I suggest you unpack and get an early night." 

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione spoke up. "Goodnight." 

Professor McGonagall gave them all a smile and inclined her head. "Goodnight, Miss Granger," she said. "Goodnight everyone." 

They all watched as Professor McGonagall turned and left the common room. Once the door had closed behind her, the eighth year students began to chatter between themselves. 

"What do you think of your dormitory?" Hermione immediately asked Ron and Harry. 

"It's nice," Ron said, shrugging. "Different. And I didn't see where my bed was. But nice." 

Harry nodded in agreement. 

"Ours is lovely too," Hermione said. "My bed is between Hannah Abbott and Pansy Parkinson," she added in a whisper. "Millicent Bulstrode is on Pansy's other side." 

"Don't you mind being next to her?" Ron asked, making a face. 

Hermione hesitated before shaking her head. "No," she said. "I don't. I don't suppose we'll become best friends, but I'm not afraid of her." 

"How did she seem in there?" Harry asked, glancing over his shoulder to where he could see Pansy talking animatedly to Draco, Blaise and Theo.

"Well… I can't say pleasant," Hermione admitted. "But she didn't try and start any trouble, not even when she found out that my bed was next to hers."

"I suppose that's a good thing," Ron said, though his tone was doubtful.

Hermione nodded. "I'm choosing to take it that way," she said. "I can't tell how she really feels. She's quite hard to read." 

"Malfoy didn't try and start anything either," Harry admitted, turning back to face Hermione again. "None of them did." 

"I really think we should try and put the past behind us," Hermione said. "I know that Malfoy did some unforgivable things, and that the others aren't exactly innocent, but the fact they're back here has to say something." 

"I know," Harry said with a sigh after a moment. "I'm still not thrilled with Malfoy being here, but at the same time, I feel a bit responsible. If I hadn't spoken in his defence at the trial, he'd probably be in Azkaban right now."

Hermione looked over to where Draco was standing, his arms wrapped around himself, and frowned slightly. "Do you think so?" 

Harry nodded. "They as good as told me that," he said. "Wanted to make sure I hadn't been put under the Imperius Curse. I couldn't send him to Azkaban, he was… he changed his loyalty when it mattered."

Hermione nodded. "I don't think he would have coped in Azkaban," she said softly. "Not if the way he coped with that awful task he was given is anything to go by." 

"He's too pretty for prison," Harry said without thinking as he glanced over his shoulder again. When he turned back, he found Ron and Hermione both staring at him. "What?" 

"_Too pretty for prison?!_" Ron asked, his eyebrows raised so high that they'd disappeared under his fringe. 

"Oh," Harry said, flushing. "You know what I mean. Look at him. He's hardly ugly." 

Ron continued to give Harry a funny look. "If you say so," he said. 

Hermione gave a small snort of laughter. "I'm going to go to bed now," she said. "I want to unpack everything before the rest come in to the dormitory. See you in the morning." 

"Goodnight, Hermione," Harry said, smiling. 

"'Night Hermione," Ron said, kissing her on the cheek. 

Blushing, Hermione gave a small wave and headed into the girls' dormitory. 

Ron looked back at Harry. "Should we head in as well?" 

"Might as well," Harry nodded. "I'm quite tired actually."

***

"Oh, you're joking," Harry groaned as he reached his bed. At the foot of the neighbouring bed was Draco's trunk. Ron was on Harry's other side.

"Do you reckon he'll move?" Ron asked, coming to stand beside Harry. 

Harry shook his head. "No," he said. "I doubt it. For all he said he didn't want to be anywhere near me, he won't move because he'll think I should be the one to move." 

"Well, if you get all your stuff unpacked, he can't _make_ you move," Ron pointed out. 

"He can't make me move anyway," Harry retorted. "Why should I move?" 

Ron held his hands up and moved back to his own bed. "Don't have a go at me," he said. "I'm not saying you should move. If he's that bothered, he can move." 

Harry snorted softly. "We'll see," he said, opening his trunk and beginning to unpack his belongings. 

As Ron was hanging his Chudley Cannons poster above his bed, the door swung open, and a few more of the eighth year boys came in. Ron nodded at them. 

"All right, Harry, Ron," Ernie McMillan greeted them as he passed. "Nice to see you both." 

"Hi, Ernie," Harry said, giving a small nod. 

"Shame Malfoy's here isn't it?" Ernie continued as he reached his bed at the far end of the room. 

Harry glanced at Ron before shrugging. "He's got as much right to be here as us," he said, turning back to his trunk. 

Ernie, who had opened his mouth to reply, frowned as Harry turned away. Then, he shrugged and drew the hangings around his own bed. 

"What was that about?" Ron asked in a low voice, not wanting Ernie to hear. 

"I'm not getting into a conversation about Malfoy," Harry replied. "And definitely not one where people just want me to slag him off." 

"Fair enough," Ron said, nodding and going back to his unpacking again. 

Harry placed the framed picture of his parents on his bedside table, where it had stood for the first six years of his time at Hogwarts. He gave a small smile. 

"You have got to be kidding me." 

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice and he turned to face Draco, who was standing at the bottom of his bed, hands on his hips. 

"Sorry, this is where my trunk was," Harry said, shrugging. 

"Well, you need to move," Draco replied flatly. 

"I'm not moving," Harry said firmly. 

"Yes, you are." 

"No. I'm not," Harry repeated, folding his arms across his chest. 

Draco mirrored his position and folded his own arms. 

Ron paused in his unpacking to watch warily. At the end of the room, Ernie poked his head out of the hangings surrounding his bed curiously. 

"Did you not hear me tell McGonagall that I wanted to be nowhere near you?" Draco asked.

"I heard," Harry replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to move. I got here first." 

"So what? Swap with Blaise," Draco demanded. 

"No. I've got all my stuff unpacked now," Harry said calmly. "I'm staying here. If you don't like it, you can move." 

"I'm not moving," Draco replied. 

"Then it looks like we're neighbours," Harry said, shrugging. He sat on the edge of his bed. 

"I'm not being your neighbour," Draco said. "No way." 

"Then you'll be sleeping on the floor," Harry said. "Unless you can convince someone to swap with you."

"I am not swapping!" Draco replied hotly. 

"Then shut up and get your stuff unpacked," Harry retorted. "Because if neither of us are moving, you're running out of time before lights out." 

Draco's mouth worked wordlessly for a few seconds before he turned on his heel and marched over to his bed. He yanked the hangings around his bed viciously, hiding himself and his trunk from view. 

Harry turned to Ron, who shrugged but had a wide grin on his face. Harry grinned back before pulling the hangings around his own bed and getting ready to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The first week back at school felt strange to a lot of the eighth year students, but none more so than Harry, Ron and Hermione. 

Harry had argued with Draco every morning, and every evening had ended with another argument about who should move beds. 

Between arguments, Harry refused to be drawn into any conversations about Draco or his presence in the school. He was aware that people were waiting for him to say that Draco didn't belong there, but he could not honestly, hand on heart, agree with them. He wouldn't have spoken in Draco's defence at the trial if he'd thought Draco didn't deserve to be free, and as far as he was concerned, people should realise that.

"Harry, if you have no problem with him being here, then why are you arguing with him _every day_?" Hermione asked with a sigh as they sat down to dinner on Friday night. 

"Because he is being an arsehole about where his bed is," Harry replied simply. "I _don't_ have a problem with him being here. I didn't think he'd come back, but he did, so what?" 

Hermione shook her head and began putting beef stew onto her plate. "It's tiring, that's all," she said in a quiet voice.

"Try being in the same dorm as them," Ron muttered on Hermione's other side. "It's brilliant trying to clear your mind before going to sleep." 

Ron had been to see the Mind Healer twice already and was doing his best to follow the advice he'd been given. 

"That reminds me, Harry, have you been to the Mind Healer yet?" Hermione asked, looking at him again. 

"Not yet," Harry said. "I will. It's only been a week though, I don't need to go right now." 

"All right, all right," Hermione said, quickly. "I just thought it might help. You went through more than—" 

"I _know_, Hermione! Leave it alone!" Harry snapped, his voice rising so quickly that it caused heads to snap round. He hardly ever raised his voice to Hermione anymore. 

Hermione turned pink and shifted her attention back to her plate. 

Ron patted her leg sympathetically. He'd asked the same thing in the dormitory that morning and had had much the same reaction from Harry. 

Harry sighed and took a bite from a bread roll, hoping that no-one else would ask him any questions. He spooned beef stew onto his own plate and began pushing it around with his fork. 

At the other end of the table, Pansy turned to Draco. "You know, Granger is right. Why _are_ you arguing with him so much? You know he doesn't really care that you're here… he hasn't punched you yet." 

"Not his style," Draco said around a mouthful of stew, causing Pansy to wrinkle her nose in disgust. 

"He's punched you before," Pansy pointed out, taking a bite of her stew that was almost delicate. 

"Like you say, he's not really angry that I'm here," Draco replied, swallowing. "I don't know, Pans. It's… it's something like normality, me and Potter arguing. I like that. Maybe he does too." 

Pansy frowned. "Maybe," she said slowly. "Why don't you just ask him?" 

Draco shook his head. "That wouldn't be normal," he said. 

Pansy sighed. "Have _you_ been to the Mind Healer yet?" 

Draco hesitated and then shook his head. "No. Don't make me shout at you like Potter." 

Pansy frowned again. "Promise me you'll go," she said. 

"I can't promise that," Draco replied. "I haven't decided yet." 

"Well at least promise you'll talk to _someone_," Pansy pleaded. 

"I will," Draco said. "When I'm ready." 

Pansy didn't look convinced, but dropped the subject. "What do you think about having to work with someone new in Charms?" 

Draco made a face. "I don't know. I know they're all for this unity thing, but I don't want to be working with, say, Finnigan. He's still blowing things up all over the place and I am rather attached to my eyebrows." 

Pansy chuckled and shook her head. "I don't suppose Flitwick will pair you with Finnigan," she said. "What if he picks Potter?" 

"What if he does?" Draco asked, taking another mouthful of his stew. 

"Will you manage without arguing?" 

"Probably not," Draco shrugged. "But we won't kill each other." 

"Oh, well that's all right then," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "You know it's for the rest of term?" 

"Of course I do," Draco replied. "I'm not stupid."

"Just checking," Pansy replied, quirking an eyebrow at him. 

Draco made a face at her.

***

"Good morning, class!" Professor Flitwick said as he entered the classroom on Monday morning. "As promised, I have paired you up based on your previous scores in this class. You will work with your new partner for the rest of term."

There was a collective groan from the class. 

"Now, now, it won't be that bad," Professor Flitwick said, smiling around at them all. 

Harry tuned out as Flitwick began to list the new pairings. He looked surreptitiously around the classroom, wondering who had the closest score to him. It was a surprise to Harry that Hermione had been paired with Pansy, he hadn't realised that Pansy was so proficient in Charms. 

"Mr Potter, you will be working with Mr Malfoy." 

Harry blinked and stared at Professor Flitwick. "Seriously?" 

"Yes, Mr Potter," Flitwick replied. "I trust that you can be trusted to work together?" 

Harry glanced at Draco across the classroom, before nodding. 

"Good, then that's settled," Professor Flitwick smiled. "Mr Weasley, you will be working with Mr Zabini." 

"Great," Ron muttered under his breath while nodding in response to Flitwick. 

"Now that you all know your partners, please arrange yourselves so that you're sitting together," Professor Flitwick continued. "And take out your wands." 

Harry looked across at Draco and rolled his eyes as he realised that Draco had no intention of getting up and walking across the room to sit beside Harry. "See you at lunch," he muttered to Ron, who was watching Blaise walking towards him warily. Gathering his bag and books up, Harry made his way to sit beside Draco. 

"Move your bag," Harry said, standing beside the chair that was next to Draco and currently occupied by Draco's bag. 

"Manners, Potter," Draco said, without looking up. "They cost nothing, you know." 

"_Please_," Harry said, through gritted teeth. 

"That's better," Draco said, pulling his bag from the chair and placing it beside his other foot. 

Harry growled softly and dropped into the seat, placing his textbook on top of the desk. He rummaged in his own bag and pulled out his wand. 

Draco smirked, twirling his wand in between his fingers. 

"You're a git, you know that, right?" Harry muttered, pushing his hair off his forehead. 

"No more than you," Draco replied calmly. 

"Whatever," Harry replied, turning his attention to Professor Flitwick. 

"We are going to be working on a more complicated version of the Banishing Charm," Professor Flitwick continued. "If you manage to perfect it, you will be able to control how far you can banish things." 

"Maybe I'll be able to banish _you_," Harry said to Draco under his breath. 

"I was thinking the same thing, Potter," Draco replied, his voice low. "Let's see if we get lucky." 

Harry snorted softly. 

"Please open your textbooks to page four hundred and twenty-four," Professor Flitwick said. "We will begin by reading the theory behind the charm before we start practicing the incantation." 

Draco elbowed Harry as he opened his textbook, causing Harry to return the elbow.

"Do you mind, Potter?" Draco asked, giving him a sideways glance. "I am simply opening my book." 

"Yeah, right," Harry replied. "You elbowed me on purpose." 

"Can you prove that?" 

"No, but I know you did," Harry said, giving Draco another elbow for good measure. 

"Good argument, Potter," Draco replied, forcing Harry's elbow off the desk with his own. 

"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy, is something the matter?" Professor Flitwick asked, turning his attention on them. 

"No, Professor," they replied in unison. 

"Then please stop jostling one another and begin to read," Flitwick said, pointedly. 

"Yes, Professor," they spoke simultaneously once again. 

Harry gave Draco another sideways glare before focusing on his textbook. Beside him, Draco did the same. 

By the time the bell rang, the students had begun practicing their Banishing Charm and had sent several cushions flying across the classroom in a much more controlled manner than their first attempts in fourth year. 

"Well done, class," Professor Flitwick said, raising his voice to be heard over the chatter. "Next lesson, we will begin to add the incantation to control the distance." 

Swinging his bag up onto the desk, Harry made sure to drop it onto Draco's hand as he put it down. 

"Potter!" Draco hissed, pulling his hand out from underneath Harry's bag. "Be careful!"

"Oh. Sorry," Harry said, not sounding sorry at all. "Didn't see your hand there." 

"I'm sure you didn't," Draco replied dryly. "Just like I didn't see your foot." He finished by standing hard on Harry's toes. 

Harry gave a hiss of pain and glared at Draco again. They were both standing now, nose to nose, identical looks of irritation on their faces. 

"Harry! Come on, it's lunchtime," Ron called from the doorway, clearly hoping to diffuse the situation. 

"Yeah, let's go, Draco," Blaise spoke up from where he was still standing by the desk. 

With one last glare, Harry picked his bag up and moved to join Ron at the door. As they left the classroom, they heard Blaise speak to Draco. 

"What was that about?" 

"None of your business, Blaise," was Draco's answer.

***

As the second week back drew to a close, the eighth year students were beginning to feel more comfortable in their environment again.

Friday arrived and Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the Charms classroom. 

"Do you think we'll get much distance?" Ron asked. "Zabini is pretty good at Charms, so I think we'll manage some but I'm not sure how much." 

"Pansy and I should get a fair bit, I think," Hermione said. "She's a very competent partner. What about you and Malfoy, Harry?" 

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "We're working all right together, but I don't know about distance yet." 

"You need to believe you will," Hermione advised. "Both you and Malfoy are good at Charms, you know that." 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we'll get a good distance," Harry said. 

"You'll be all right, mate," Ron said. "You haven't been arguing much during the lesson." 

"Not out loud we haven't," Harry muttered. "We'll see how things go." 

Ron caught Hermione's eye and gave her a nervous look. 

As they reached the classroom, Harry made his way across the room to the desk he shared with Draco. Draco was already there, his book and wand sitting on the desk in front of him. 

"Malfoy," Harry said in greeting as he sat down. 

"What took you so long, Potter? Class is just about to start," Draco replied. 

"Keep your knickers on," Harry said. "I'm here, aren't I?" 

"Well, you appear to be," Draco said, turning to give Harry an appraising look. 

Harry couldn't think of any response other than to stick his tongue out at Draco, who snorted in response. 

"Nice." 

Harry ignored him and pulled his textbook and wand out of his bag. 

"Good morning, class!" Professor Flitwick said as he arrived. "I hope you're ready for today's lesson!" 

"Yes, Professor," the class chorused. 

"We are going to continue practicing with the cushions," Professor Flitwick continued. "Then, we will move on to harder objects." 

"Like what, Professor?" Hermione asked, her hand in the air. 

"We will first move on to chairs," Professor Flitwick said, turning to her. "Our eventual goal will be to move one of the big tables over there." 

"Can this charm be used to move people?" Harry asked, thrusting his hand into the air too. 

"Well… I suppose it _could_," Professor Flitwick said thoughtfully. "But you would need to be extremely competent to ensure no-one was hurt. I wouldn't suggest that any of you attempt it today." 

Harry glanced at Draco, raising his eyebrows briefly. 

Draco returned the look, raising his own eyebrows in a silent challenge. 

As the class began in earnest, the room was filled with cushions zooming left and right. 

Harry sent a cushion flying past Draco's head, smiling as Draco reached out a hand and caught it. 

"Nice try, Potter," Draco said, flinging the cushion back at Harry, who dodged it easily. "I think we should try something harder." 

"Yeah?" Harry asked, putting his hands on his hips. "Like what?"

"You," Draco replied. 

"No way. Why can't we try you?" Harry replied flatly. 

"Because _you_ asked _me_, and I think we should try you," Draco answered, as though it was obvious. 

"Then how about whichever of us is quicker with our wand chooses?" Harry said. 

"Like a duel?" Draco asked, one eyebrow lifted in question. 

"Yeah, sort of," Harry said. "We cast the charm at the same time. Whichever of us is quicker will win." 

"You're on," Draco said, nodding. "On three?"

"On three," Harry nodded. "One…" 

"Two…" Draco continued the count. 

"Three!" 

As they both uttered the word, they pointed their wands at each other and recited the incantation. 

A second later, there was an almighty bang, several people shrieked, and Harry and Draco found themselves propelled towards each other. 

"What happened?" Harry gasped as they crashed into each other and staggered backwards slightly. 

"I— I don't know," Draco stuttered, grabbing Harry's arm to prevent himself falling backwards. 

"Gentlemen! Are you all right?" Professor Flitwick gasped as he bustled over. "What happened?" 

"We, er…" Harry began, rubbing the back of his head with one hand as he looked to Draco. 

"We thought we'd try casting the spell at the same time," Draco said, opting not to tell Professor Flitwick the whole truth. 

"Oh, no, no, no," Flitwick said, shaking his head. "It should only be cast by one person at a time! Is either one of you hurt?" 

Harry and Draco both shook their heads. 

"No, we're fine, Professor," Harry said quickly. "Just a bit surprised. We won't try that again." 

"Good, good," Flitwick said. "We have ten minutes before the end of class, have another go before the bell rings. One of you at a time, please." 

"Yes, Professor," Draco replied, nodding. 

They watched as Flitwick headed off to check on Seamus and Ernie. 

"Well, that was a disaster," Harry sighed. 

"Yes. Just a slight one," Draco replied, wrinkling his nose up. "At least we aren't injured. Go on then, you cast the spell on the cushion. Send it onto that shelf up there."

Harry nodded, pointing his wand at the cushion and performing the spell. They both watched as the cushion soared up to the shelf and landed with a soft thump. 

"I think we're done for the day," Draco said, sitting back down. 

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, dropping into his seat as well. 

"Careful, Potter," Draco turned to him. "People will think we're becoming friends." 

Harry snorted. "Maybe then they'll stop trying to get me to say you shouldn't be here." 

Draco looked at Harry in surprise. "They do?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. But every time someone has tried to get me involved in a conversation about you, I've shut them down."

"Why?" Draco asked, unable to stop himself.

"You have as much right to be here as anyone," Harry shrugged. "And I wouldn't have spoken at your trial if I didn't think so." 

"Oh," Draco said, looking thoughtful. Before he could say anything else, the bell rang. 

"Saved by the bell," Harry said softly, giving Draco a small smile. 

"Mmm," Draco said, standing up. 

Harry stood up too, lifting his bag onto the desk to pack his textbook and wand away. 

"Coming, Harry?" Ron asked over his shoulder as he headed for the door. 

"Yeah, hang on," Harry replied, fastening his bag and swinging it onto his shoulder. "See you later, Malfoy," he added as he made to step away from the desk.

"If you're lucky," Draco replied, without looking up as he packed his own things away.

Harry snorted as he walked around the desk and started towards Ron. He'd barely walked five paces when he felt something pulling him back. He paused and looked around. "Did you just pull me backwards?" 

Draco looked at him in surprise as he stood up. "Me? No, why would I want to do that?" 

"Well, something pulled me back," Harry frowned. "I can't move any further forward." 

"Are you joking?" Draco asked, taking a step towards Harry. 

Harry shook his head, a worried look on his face. "I tried," he said. "I couldn't move my feet." 

"Well… can you move now?" Draco asked as he drew level with Harry. 

"Harry! What are you doing?" Ron called, sticking his head back in the door. He did a double-take when he saw Harry and Draco standing together. 

"I'm just coming now," Harry replied, looking back at Ron. "I'll catch you up." 

"Okay, well, don't take too long," Ron replied. "Lunch will be served any minute." 

Draco tutted and rolled his eyes. "It's not like you won't get anything to eat," he muttered. 

Harry snorted softly. 

"Does he ever think about something other than food?" Draco asked, glancing at Harry. 

"Sometimes he thinks about Quidditch," Harry grinned. 

"The essentials then," Draco said. "Can you move now?" he repeated his question. 

Harry took an experimental step. "Yes," he said. 

"Then catch up to your Weasel," Draco said, waving his hand. "Blaise will be waiting for me." 

Harry rolled his eyes but began to walk again, before he was stopped by the unknown force once more. Sighing, he turned back to Draco. "This isn't going to work," he said. "You're going to have to walk with me." 

"I'm not walking with you," Draco replied immediately. "People will think we're friends." 

"I don't care," Harry said. "Neither of us will get anywhere unless it's together." 

"You don't know that," Draco said, shaking his head. "Let me go first." 

"Be my guest," Harry said, gesturing for Draco to go ahead of him. "See if you can." 

Draco scoffed and pushed past Harry, moving confidently. He had only walked five paces ahead of Harry when he felt like he was being pulled backwards, as Harry had done. Stopping in his tracks, he turned to Harry slowly, a worried expression on his face. 

"Believe me now?" Harry asked, his arms folded across his chest. 

Draco nodded. "I don't want to, but… yes," he said. "When we tried to banish each other, you must have got something wrong." 

"Hey! Don't blame me!" Harry exclaimed, dropping his arms in surprise. "We cast the spell at the same time!" 

"My casting was perfect!" Draco protested. 

"I beg to differ! We can't move any more than five paces from each other, how in Merlin's name are we going to explain _that_?" Harry demanded. 

"I… well," Draco began. "We'll just have to…"

Harry raised an eyebrow, waiting for Draco to come up with something. "Exactly," he said when all he got was silence. "You realise we're going to have to sit next to each other at lunch now?" 

"You're not sitting with us! Pansy would have kittens!" Draco exclaimed. 

"Well then, you'll have to come and sit with me, Ron and Hermione," Harry pointed out.

"No," Draco said immediately. "I can't do that." 

"Then what do _you_ suggest, Malfoy?" Harry retorted. "They're going to notice if we sit on our own somewhere!" 

"Maybe we just stay here until Professor Flitwick comes back?" Draco tried, a hopeful tone to his voice.

"I'm not missing lunch just because you're afraid to be seen walking with me," Harry said. "I'm starving!" 

"I'm fine," Draco said before his stomach gave a growl to reveal his lie. He turned pink. 

"That settles it," Harry said triumphantly. "Come on. We'll figure out where we're sitting when we get there." 

Draco groaned but followed Harry from the classroom, scowling at Harry's back. 

Harry headed for the Great Hall, trying not to walk too fast, but also trying to look like he wasn't with Draco.

***

Entering the Great Hall, Harry made for the Alliance table, closely followed by Draco.

"There you are, Harry!" Ron called. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten the way!"

"No chance of that," Harry replied with a grin as he made his way towards the end of the table where he, Ron and Hermione usually sat. 

"Not so fast, Potter," Draco hissed behind him. 

"I'm going to sit down," Harry muttered back, trying to move forward again, but being held back by the magic. 

"I'm not sitting down there," Draco protested, trying to move backwards towards Pansy. "The lighting is awful." 

Harry threw a look of confusion over his shoulder at Draco. "That wasn't the argument I was expecting."

"Yes, well," Draco replied. "Come back here and sit down." 

"No, I'm not sitting down there," Harry said, parroting Draco's words back at him. "I want to sit with my friends." 

"Tough. If I can't sit with mine, you can't sit with yours," Draco said stubbornly.

Neither Harry nor Draco were aware that they were being watched with fascination by most of the school as they hovered somewhere in the middle of the table, neither facing the other, but not moving in any direction. 

"Then sit _here_," Harry said, stepping towards the table and sitting down. 

Draco gave a small growl but reluctantly sat next to Harry. 

"Mate… what are you doing?" Ron asked, his sandwich forgotten as he stared at Harry and Draco. 

"Don't tell him the truth," Draco hissed in Harry's ear. 

"We'll have to tell them sometime," Harry muttered out of the corner of his mouth before turning to answer Ron. "Er, we need to talk about our Charms assignment."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry's explanation and she leant over to whisper something to Ron, who nodded. 

"All right," Ron replied after a second, giving a shrug. 

Hermione stared directly at Harry, raising her eyebrows slightly. 

Harry gave a tiny nod, understanding the glare to mean 'we need to talk about this after lunch'. 

At the other end of the table, Pansy was also staring at Draco and Harry with a look of confusion on her face. Then she got up and approached them. "Draco, what is the meaning of this?" she asked as she reached Draco's side. 

"Not now, Pansy," Draco said, looking up at her. "After lunch." 

Harry reached over and grabbed some sandwiches from the main platter in the centre of the table. He paused, then took a couple more, pushing them towards Draco. 

Pansy gave Harry a suspicious look before nodding. "All right. _Immediately_ after lunch," she said, before turning and stalking back to her place between Blaise and Theo. 

Draco turned to Harry with a grimace. "This is ridiculous," he muttered.

"You're telling me," Harry replied. "We're going to have to explain that we're idiots to our friends." 

"I am not telling anyone that I'm an idiot," Draco protested. "You can if you want though." 

"What, tell people you're an idiot?" Harry asked, a smirk playing on his face. 

"Shut up, you know what I meant," Draco snapped. "This had better wear off soon." 

Harry dropped his sandwich. "I've just realised… if it doesn't, we won't be able to sleep in our own beds tonight." 

Draco slapped a hand to his forehead. "I didn't think of that," he moaned. 

"Do you think we should ask Professor Flitwick about it?" Harry asked, picking his sandwich up again. 

"Absolutely not," Draco replied, shaking his head. "We mention this to him and we'll have to tell him we tried to banish each other." 

Harry groaned around the mouthful he'd just taken. 

"Don't groan at me," Draco said, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

***

As the bell sounded to signal the end of lunchtime, Harry looked around to see Ron and Hermione approaching them. As he turned back to look at Draco, he spotted Pansy approaching from the opposite direction. "We're in trouble," he muttered.

Draco nodded, closing his eyes. 

Hermione and Ron reached them first. "You two, come with us," Hermione said, gesturing to the door. 

"Not so fast, Granger," Pansy spoke up. "They're coming with me." 

"We can all go," Harry said quickly, standing up before Hermione could reply. "Common room." 

Draco stood up too, nodding. "Now." 

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other but nodded, stepping back to let Harry and Draco out. 

Harry walked out of the Great Hall and into the Alliance common room with Draco at his side. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realised it was empty. 

"Sit," Hermione said as soon as she walked into the room. "And explain." 

Harry sat down—not because Hermione told him to, but because he felt like he needed to be sitting. "We… might have done something stupid in Charms today." 

"Really?" Pansy asked sarcastically. "Could this 'something stupid' have anything to do with the question you asked Flitwick before we started banishing cushions?" 

"…Maybe," Harry admitted, nodding. 

"Harry! You tried to banish him?" Hermione gasped, looking between them. 

"He tried to banish me too!" Harry exclaimed, looking at Hermione with wide eyes. 

"That is _not_ an excuse, Harry!" 

"Draco, what were you thinking?!" Pansy demanded. 

"He was annoying me!" Draco argued. 

"_That's_ not an excuse either!" 

"Well—" 

"But—" 

"No excuses!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two have been arguing like mad for the whole time we've been back here. This is ridiculous!" 

"Hold on," Pansy said, holding her hands up. "Exactly what is happening to you two?" 

Harry sighed. "We can't be more than five paces away from each other." 

Hermione's eyes widened in recognition. "Your spells backfired," she said. "You must have tried to send each other a certain distance away?" 

Harry and Draco both nodded silently. 

"You can't do that," Hermione said. "You can't stop a person from being in your space. If you try, it works the opposite way and you have to stay next to them. It's something to do with not distancing yourself from your problems." 

Harry and Draco looked at each other. 

"How do you know all that, Granger?" Pansy asked, her hands on her hips.

"I read it in a textbook," Hermione replied. 

"Not one we've been given for class?" Pansy asked suspiciously. 

Hermione shook her head. "No. I took this one out of the library for some background reading."

"Of course you did," Ron muttered, looking amused. 

"Shh!" Hermione said, glaring at Ron, who mimed zipping his lips shut. 

She turned back to Harry and Draco. "Have you told Professor Flitwick?"

Harry gave her a look. "Do you really think we've told him?"

Hermione sighed. "Of course you haven't. Are you going to?"

"No!" Draco exclaimed. "We can't tell him. He'll know we tried to banish each other!"

"Draco, really?!" Pansy asked exasperatedly. 

"Pansy, we cannot tell him," Draco said.

Pansy exchanged a look with Hermione. 

"Hermione, please," Harry said. "We'll work this out on our own."

"Oh, really?" Hermione asked, putting her hands on her hips. "And how will you do that?"

"I…" Harry started, glancing at Draco. 

"We'll…" Draco added, looking at Pansy. 

Pansy quirked an eyebrow at them. 

Ron looked at Harry and Draco too, taking pity on them. "Leave them alone," he said. "They'll figure it out. Their beds are already next to each other, they'll be fine. I'll help."

Harry looked at him in surprise. 

"Yes!" Draco exclaimed. "And Blaise will help too!"

Pansy looked at Hermione again. "What do you think, Granger? Should we let them work it out themselves?"

"Well," Hermione said slowly. "If they're really that determined…"

"All we need you to do is help us cover it up in class," Harry said, looking at Hermione pleadingly. "Until we work it out."

"Pansy, please," Draco added. "I can't afford to get into trouble, you know that."

Harry looked at him and suddenly realised why he was so keen for Professor Flitwick not to find out.

Pansy's gaze softened as she looked back at Draco. "All right," she said with a sigh. "I won't tell anyone and I'll do my best to help you hide it. Granger?"

Hermione looked doubtful but nodded after a moment. "All right. But we'd all better start sitting together."

Pansy wrinkled her nose slightly but nodded. 

"Thank you," Harry said. "We really appreciate it."

Draco nodded in agreement. 

"Just one thing," Hermione said. "What happens when you have to be in different classes?"

Harry and Draco looked at each other. "We'll figure that out later," Harry said quickly. "Can we, er, can we borrow that book you said you took out?"

"Oh, I returned it the other day," Hermione said. "I'd read it all. But if you both have a free lesson now you could go to the library."

"What do you think?" Harry asked, turning to Draco. 

"Let's go," Draco replied, standing up. 

Harry stood up too. "Are you lot coming?"

"I can't," Pansy said. "I have to go and see Professor Sinistra about my essay, and she'll be in class if I leave it any longer."

"I'll come and show you which book it is," Hermione said. "But I said I'd meet Ginny and help her with some of her Arithmancy homework so I can't stay long."

"I'm not doing anything," Ron said. "I'll come with you too."

"See you later then, Pansy," Draco said, giving her a miserable look. 

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You'll be fine," she said, patting his cheek. Then she gave Hermione, Ron and Harry a sideways glance. "They're not so bad," she added before waltzing out of the common room.

They all stared after her, surprised. 

"Well… was that a compliment?" Hermione asked. 

"It's as close as you'll get from Pansy," Draco replied, frowning. "Are we going to the library or not?"

"Yes, yes," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Go on. Lead the way."

Draco turned and walked towards the door quickly, forcing Harry to run after him. 

Hermione hid a smile at the ridiculousness of the situation.

***

As the bell rang to signal the end of the afternoon's classes, Harry and Draco were still in the library.

"Do you understand any of this stuff?" Harry sighed, dropping his head onto his arms. 

Draco snorted. "Yes," he replied. "Of course I do." 

"Don't say it like that," Harry muttered. "I don't know how Hermione does it. I don't take every little detail in like she does." 

"You do surprise me," Draco replied sarcastically, turning a page. 

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Malfoy!" Harry snapped, lifting his head again. "I'm not stupid! I'm just better at the practical stuff!" 

"I never said you were stupid," Draco said after a moment's silence. 

"Well, you implied it," Harry huffed, putting his chin down on the top of his arms this time. 

"I didn't say anything that I wouldn't have said before," Draco said. 

"Maybe not, but it's not my fault that I don't really 'do' book learning," Harry muttered. "Is there anything in there to say how we reverse the spell?" 

Draco sighed and shut the book. "No. Granger was right, it does say that no-one can banish another person without the spell backfiring. It's against magical law to banish people." 

"Great," Harry groaned. "So… what now?" 

"Right now?" Draco asked. "Right now we need to go for dinner." 

"Not right now, I know it's dinner time." Harry tutted. "What do we do if we can't reverse the spell?" 

"I suppose we probably _should_ tell Flitwick." Draco sighed. "He should be able to take it off for us."

"Well, you would think so," Harry replied. "He is an expert after all." 

"So we go to him after dinner?" Draco asked, packing his books away. 

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I think we should. If we don't, we'll have to share a bed tonight." 

Draco made a face. "I don't want to do that," he said. "I don't imagine you can keep still while you sleep." 

"Yeah, well, hopefully, you won't have to find out," Harry muttered, making a face as he stood up. "Hurry up. I'm hungry." 

"You're always hungry," Draco replied, swinging his bag onto his shoulder. 

"If you think I'm bad, you should see Ron," Harry said knowingly. 

Draco wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather not," he said. "It's bad enough that I'm stuck with you." 

"Don't blame me for that," Harry said. "It's as much your fault!" 

"Oh, don't start all that again," Draco replied in a tired voice. "I'm fed up of hearing it, Potter. We both know we're both to blame. No need to keep going over it." 

"Then what do you suggest, Malfoy?" Harry demanded, leading the way out of the library. "What else do you want to talk about?" 

"How about we just don't talk?" Draco asked, following Harry. "Surely you can manage that?" 

"Fine!" Harry said. "We won't talk. And people will wonder why we're just wandering around silently together." 

"It's hardly wandering when you're stomping about like that," Draco replied.

"Shut up," Harry said as they entered the Great Hall. 

As they made their way to the Alliance table, they could see Ron and Hermione sitting with Pansy, Blaise and Theo. Harry groaned softly. 

"I forgot about that," Draco muttered. 

"Me too," Harry sighed. He could see that Hermione was sitting beside Pansy with Ron and Blaise sitting opposite, leaving room for Harry and Draco at the very end of the table. "At least we don't have to sit right next to each other." 

Draco grunted in reply, moving to sit beside Pansy and leaving Harry to sit next to Blaise. 

Harry gave Blaise a wary look as he sat down. "Where's Nott?" 

"I'm here," Theo said from beside Ron. He didn't look particularly happy about being shunted down the table. 

"Oh," Harry said, not really sure why he'd asked. 

"How was the library?" Pansy asked, turning to Draco. 

"Pointless," Draco replied. "All it did was confirm what Granger told us earlier." 

"So you are still… attached then?" Pansy asked carefully. 

"Yes," Draco replied shortly. "We are." 

"Oh dear," Hermione said quietly. 

"We're going to Flitwick after dinner," Harry said. "Hopefully he'll take it off for us." 

"I thought you didn't want him to know?" Pansy asked Draco, frowning slightly. 

"I didn't," Draco replied. "But I'd rather tell him than be stuck like this for Merlin knows how long." 

"If we stay like this, we'll end up killing each other," Harry added. "He's absolutely the most frustrating person in the world." 

"Me?" Draco exclaimed, affronted. "You can't talk! You're—" 

"That's enough!" Pansy said firmly. "Not at dinner time." 

Harry and Draco both blinked in surprise but snapped their mouths shut as they looked away from one another. Hermione looked impressed. 

Luckily they were distracted when the food appeared, and everyone began to load their plates. Harry and Draco ate in tense silence, while Pansy made small talk with Hermione. 

Once the plates had cleared themselves for the last time, Harry cleared his throat. "Let's go to Flitwick now." 

"I was going to say the exact same thing," Draco said, standing up. 

"Can you be trusted to go to him without hurting each other in the process?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Or do you need our supervision?" Hermione added. 

"We are not neanderthals," Draco replied scornfully, before pausing. "Well, I'm not at any rate." 

"Hey!" Harry protested, glaring furiously at him. 

"Remind me, how many times have you punched me in the past?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As many times as you've deserved it," Harry replied pointedly. 

"I—" Draco began before being interrupted. 

"That's enough!" Pansy said, raising her voice. "If you're going to Flitwick, go now before _I_ go for you!" 

Harry blinked again and looked at Draco. 

"Fine. Come on, Potter," Draco huffed, getting up and heading for the teachers table, leaving Harry to hurry after him. 

As they reached the teachers' table, Professor Flitwick was just getting up. 

"Professor Flitwick, can we talk to you?" Harry asked, looking at the professor hopefully. 

"Of course, what can I do for you, boys?" Professor Flitwick asked, sitting back down. 

"Er, can we go to your office?" Harry asked, glancing at Draco who gave a small nod. 

"Why, yes, certainly," Professor Flitwick replied, getting to his feet again. 

Harry and Draco stepped back, letting Flitwick lead the way. 

As they walked, they felt the gazes of every student they passed, assuming that they were in trouble. 

Within a few minutes, they had reached Flitwick's office and as they approached, he unlocked the door with a flick of his hand. 

"Please, come in," Professor Flitwick said, gesturing to them to follow him. 

Once inside, Harry and Draco stood nervously in front of the professor's desk as he seated himself behind it. 

"Now, what can I do for you?" Flitwick asked.

"Professor, we…" Harry began, unsure what to say, "er, we may have... accidentally... found ourselves stuck together." 

Draco groaned and rolled his eyes. 

"Stuck together? What do you mean?" Professor Flitwick asked, frowning slightly. "You don't look stuck together." 

"No, not literally," Harry said. "We can't move more than five paces away from each other." 

"Ah," Professor Flitwick said, knowingly. "I see. Would this be the result of the small explosion in my class this morning?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry and Draco said at the same time, not looking at him. 

"So when I asked you what had happened and you said that you tried to cast the spell at the same time…" Professor Flitwick left his question unasked. 

"We tried to banish each other," Harry replied in a small voice as Draco nodded beside him. 

"I see. Despite being told not to attempt that," Professor Flitwick said sternly. "Well, boys, I'm going to disappoint you. I won't be reversing the spell. Let this be a lesson to you—I believe it will teach you more than a detention could—after the war, we should all be trying to move on from the past. From what I have seen from you two, both in and out of class, you are struggling to do that, so perhaps being stuck in each other's company will help you." 

"What?" Draco exclaimed, looking at Professor Flitwick with wide eyes. "Professor, no!" 

"Professor, we can't be stuck like this!" Harry added, glancing at Draco briefly. "We'll kill each other!" 

"I think that's a bit over dramatic, don't you?" Professor Flitwick asked. "You have both matured over the last year, I have no doubts that you can overcome this problem." 

"H—how long do you expect us to live like this?" Harry asked. 

"As long as it takes for you to stop behaving like children," Professor Flitwick replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some marking to do." 

Harry blinked and then nudged Draco. "Come on," he muttered. "Let's get back to the common room." 

Draco stood still for a moment, before turning and following Harry from Professor Flitwick's office. 

As they shut the door behind them, Professor Flitwick sighed. "Minerva, I don't like doing this." 

A tabby cat that had been sitting, unseen, behind the desk disappeared, and Professor McGonagall appeared in its place. "I know Filius, but I don't know what else we can do," she said. "The bickering is incessant. This is just one way of making them get to know each other and perhaps put their past behind them." 

"I hope you're right, Minerva," Flitwick replied.

"I don't think they're as angry with one another as they seem," Professor McGonagall said. "They just need to admit it to themselves."


	3. Chapter 3

Entering the common room, Harry and Draco immediately found themselves surrounded by Pansy, Ron and Hermione. Blaise and Theo hovered a short distance away. 

"Well? Did he remove it for you?" Hermione asked. 

"He must have," Pansy said. "He's a teacher, he can't let them live in each other's pockets." 

Sighing, Harry shook his head. "No. He didn't remove it. He said that to teach us a lesson, he's leaving it alone." 

Hermione gasped. 

"What?" Pansy exclaimed in outrage. "He can't do that! Draco, surely you must have told him that your—" 

"I didn't tell him anything," Draco interrupted her, predicting what she was going to say. "I don't want to live like that anymore." 

Harry glanced curiously at him. 

"But Draco…" Pansy began. 

"But nothing, Pans," Draco said. "This is punishment. If you'll excuse me… _us_, I need a lie down. Potter?" 

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione before nodding. "Okay," he said. "Let's go." 

Draco headed for the dormitory with Harry following, leaving Pansy to stare after them. 

"This isn't Flitwick's doing," Hermione said softly. "He wouldn't do that. He's been told to do it." 

"By who?" Pansy asked, whirling around to face her. "They can't do that!" 

"I'd be willing to bet it was McGonagall," Ron said. "That thing about teaching them a lesson is something she'd say." 

"And if it was Professor McGonagall," Hermione added. "There'll be no changing her mind."

Pansy frowned but didn't say anything. 

In the dormitory, Draco sat on the edge of his bed closest to Harry's. Harry attempted to sit on his own bed but was stopped by the magic and settled for perching on the edge of Draco's bed too. "Is this ok?" 

Draco sighed. "I haven't got much choice have I?" he asked. "You have to be somewhere close by." 

Harry nodded. He was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Draco. "What was Pansy going to say?" 

"She was going to say that I must have told him that my father would change his mind," Draco replied bitterly. "I would have once. But not now. I don't want to live that way anymore. I want to fight my own battles." 

Harry nodded again, this time in understanding. "Is this a battle?" 

"I hope not," Draco said, honestly. "I haven't got the energy to fight you, Potter."

"I don't want to fight you," Harry replied. "I have no reason to really. Not anymore." 

"Good to know," Draco said softly. "Listen, I…" 

Harry turned to him, a curious look on his face. 

"Sit on here properly," Draco sighed, pulling his legs up onto the bed and shuffling into the centre. 

Harry mimicked him and watched as Draco pulled the hangings around the bed, hiding them from view. 

"Uh, Malfoy…" Harry began uncertainly. 

"Shh," Draco replied, pulling his wand out and pointing it the hangings. He muttered a few   
Incantations before putting his wand down again. He looked at Harry. "Silencing Charms." 

"Oh," Harry said, nodding in understanding. "Makes sense I suppose. What were you going to say?" 

Draco paused. "I still have nightmares," he said softly. "I put the charms up every night so no-one notices. But now we're going to be in the same bed, I thought I should tell you." 

"I appreciate that," Harry said. "And in that case, I should probably tell you that I still have nightmares too. I've been taking Dreamless Sleep since we've been back here so I haven't had to use Silencing Charms." 

"Do you find that works better?" Draco asked. "Just taking potions?" 

"I'd rather not take them, if that's what you're asking," Harry said. "But I, ah, I didn't think about Silencing Charms. I thought I'd rather make sure I got some sleep." 

Draco nodded again. "That makes sense," he said. "I don't have them every night, but I've had a few since being here. I suppose being back here brings the memories to the front." 

Harry nodded too. "I've had more since being back too," he said. "It wasn't quite as bad before that." 

"Do Granger and Weasley know you still have them?" Draco asked after a moment of silence. 

Harry nodded. "That's why Hermione has been so desperate for me to see the Mind Healer," he said. "She doesn't think it's healthy to keep having them." 

"Pansy is the same," Draco said. "She made me promise to go. Or to at least talk to someone. I think she hopes I'll talk to her." 

"Will you?" 

"I don't know," Draco replied. "I don't know if she'll understand." 

"Why wouldn't she?" Harry asked. "She went through it too." 

Draco shook his head. "No, she didn't," he said. "She kept out of it as much as she could. She left as soon as she was given a chance, don't you remember?" 

"I remember she tried to hand me over to Voldemort," Harry replied. "But… she was the only one. No-one else seemed interested."

Draco shook his head again. "They wouldn't have been," he said with a sigh. "By the end, the whole house was petrified for their own safety. Pansy was scared, she thought it was the only way." 

Harry shrugged slightly. "I don't blame her," he said. "I really don't. I might have done the same in her position. I mean, it's not like any of us had any prior experience of a situation like that was it?" 

"No," Draco said softly. "No I suppose not."

"I don't even really blame you for the things you did," Harry admitted. "Not anymore."

"I didn't enjoy doing those things," Draco confessed. "I… after Katie, I wanted out. But I couldn't. It was too late. If I backed out, I was as good as dead."

"I know," Harry nodded. "I understand why you carried on. I don't agree with it, but… I understand." 

"Something else that's good to know," Draco said thoughtfully. "What were you planning on doing tomorrow?"

"Catching up on my homework," Harry said. "I still have my Potions essay to finish, and a bit of the Charms assignment" 

"Oh. Good. Same as me," Draco said. 

"Saves a bit of hassle," Harry nodded. "Er… what time do you usually go to bed?" 

Draco looked at his watch. "Not for another hour or so." 

"What do you do between now and then?" Harry asked. 

Draco shrugged. "I'm not usually sitting on my bed," he admitted. "I would normally be in the common room with Pansy and everyone." 

"But you don't feel like it today," Harry said, knowingly. "I don't either." 

"No," Draco agreed. "So, if it's all right with you, I'd like an early night. Maybe I'll get more sleep that way." 

Harry nodded. "Fine by me," he said. "I sleep in boxers and a t-shirt, is that all right?" 

Draco nodded too. "Yes," he said. "I wear pyjama trousers."

"Just pyjama trousers?" Harry asked. 

"Yes… do you have a problem with that?" Draco asked, raising an accusatory eyebrow. 

Harry shook his head quickly. "No, no. Of course not." 

"Good. Do you need anything from your bed?" Draco replied. 

"Just my t-shirt," Harry said. 

"Can you get it without me having to move?" Draco asked. "Or do I need to go with you?" 

"I don't know," Harry said. "And why are you assuming we're sleeping here?" 

"Because you hadn't said otherwise," Draco replied, shrugging. "And now it's too late." 

"Well… it's not really, is it?" Harry asked. "We could still swap and sleep in my bed."

"We could… but I'm not going to," Draco said. "We're sleeping here." 

"Fine," Harry sighed. "Let me go and get my t-shirt then." 

Draco nodded, shuffling over so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed again as Harry slipped off the bed, through the hangings and made his way cautiously to his own bed. He got within two steps of the bed and felt the magic pulling him back. Grumbling slightly, he leant over and rummaged under his pillow, eventually extracting the t-shirt he slept in from underneath. 

"Got it," he said, moving back to Draco's bed and pushing his way through the hangings. He paused as his vision was filled with the pale skin of Draco's chest. "You've changed."

"Well you didn't expect me to sleep in my clothes did you?" Draco asked, giving Harry a funny look. 

"No, I just… never mind," Harry said, shrugging off his robes and letting them fall to the floor. He followed that by toeing his shoes off, before pulling his jumper over his head and dropping that to the floor too. He began to unbutton his shirt, paused, and turned his back on Draco who snorted. A few seconds later, Harry shrugged his shirt off and it topped the pile of clothing at his feet. Pulling his t-shirt on, Harry then unbuttoned his trousers and kicked them off before turning back to face Draco. 

Draco was watching, open-mouthed, as the pile of clothing grew. "Are you just going to leave them there like that?" 

Harry glanced down at the pile and then looked back at Draco. "Yes… why?" 

"Well now I know why you always look so… rumpled," Draco replied, shaking his head. "_My_ clothes are over there. Folded neatly." 

Harry looked in the direction that Draco had jerked his thumb and shrugged. "Good for you," he said. 

"You're seriously leaving them there, aren't you?" Draco asked, staring at Harry with wide eyes. "Potter, if I fall over your clothes in the morning, I will not be happy." 

"Why would you fall over them? You're on that side," Harry said, frowning. 

"I sleep on _that_ side," Draco replied. "So when I get out of bed, I'll be on that side." 

"Fine, fine," Harry muttered, shoving the pile of clothes over slightly with his foot. "Happy now?" 

"I'd be happier if you were messing up your own bed," Draco muttered. 

"Yeah, well… I'm not," Harry replied. "I'm here. We're going to have to swap sides if you want to be over here." 

"Get on the bed then," Draco replied, crawling across the bed himself. 

Harry grumbled again but climbed onto the bed and shuffled his way across to the opposite side. "Are you always such a pain when it comes to bed sharing?" 

"Funnily enough, I haven't shared my bed with many people," Draco sniffed. "You, as much as I hate to admit this, will be the first." 

"I'm honoured," Harry replied, an amused grin threatening to spill across his face.

"Shut up," Draco muttered. "How many people have you shared _your_ bed with?" 

Harry shook his head. "Only Ron and Hermione last year," he said. "And it was for necessity more than anything else." 

"Oh. Well… get in," Draco replied, shoving the duvet back and climbing into the bed. 

Harry hesitated before climbing in beside Draco. He shivered slightly at the body heat radiating off the other boy. 

Draco slid down the bed until his head was resting on the pillow. Harry's body was generating far too much heat for his liking. "Are you always this warm?" 

"Me? You're the one who feels like a radiator," Harry protested as he laid down too. He shifted as close to the edge of the bed as he dared. 

"What's a radiator?" Draco asked, also shuffling to the side of the bed. 

"Oh. It's something that Muggles use to heat their houses," Harry replied, lifting one hand to take off his glasses. "Here. Can you put these on your bedside table please?" 

Draco blinked but took Harry's glasses from him, setting them down on the table. "If we're going to be stuck like this for a while, we need to bring your bedside table over here." 

"Or we could take yours over to my bed," Harry pointed out, rolling onto his side so that he was facing away from Draco.

"Well that would be silly since we're sleeping here," Draco said, turning his head to look at the back of Harry's head. 

"For now," Harry replied. "We need to resize the bed too. I'm nearly falling out here." 

"Well… that does make sense," Draco said thoughtfully. "I could do that now, but I'm not getting back out of bed to get my wand." 

"Neither am I," Harry agreed. 

"You could probably reach yours without getting out of bed," Draco muttered. "That pile of clothes is big enough." 

"Are you still going on about that?" Harry sighed, turning over again so that he could see the blurry outline of Draco. 

"_Yes_," Draco exclaimed. "You don't take any pride in your appearance! How can you stand having wrinkled robes because they've spent all night in a crumpled pile on the bedroom floor?"

"I don't notice the wrinkles," Harry said, shrugging. "And I didn't think anyone else was paying such close attention to me." 

"I'm not," Draco said immediately. "I wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't seen you just dump everything down there." 

"You said before that now you know why I always look, what was it, _rumpled_," Harry said, raising an eyebrow. 

"Well, maybe I've noticed a couple of times," Draco muttered as his cheeks turned pink. He was glad that Harry couldn't see much without his glasses.

Harry snorted. "Whatever you say." 

"Shut up and go to sleep," Draco replied, turning his back to Harry. 

"Gladly," Harry said, grinning to himself as he closed his eyes.

***

Draco awoke a few hours later, shivering. Opening his eyes, it took a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the darkness. Neville was snoring a few beds away and Draco could hear Blaise's even breathing in the next bed. As his eyes adjusted, he could see the reason for his shivering—Harry had pulled the duvet away from him and had cocooned himself. 

Gritting his teeth, Draco groped for the edge of the duvet and pulled it away from Harry and back over himself. 

Harry gave a grunt and rolled back towards Draco, one hand searching for the duvet again. 

"Potter!" Draco hissed, clutching the duvet tightly as Harry's hand landed on his arm. 

"Mm?" Harry mumbled, stirring slightly. 

"Stop hogging the duvet!" Draco hissed again, edging away from Harry's hand. 

"Oh, sorry," Harry mumbled without opening his eyes. "It's not big enough for two." 

"We'll resize it tomorrow," Draco muttered, settling himself back against his pillow. 

"Okay," Harry sighed, his arm falling still between them. 

Draco gave a sigh of his own and closed his eyes again, hoping he'd get back to sleep quickly. 

Slowly, both boys' breathing evened out as they drifted back to sleep. Harry shifted, trying to find a cool spot on the pillow. He grunted at the warmth still radiating from Draco and rolled over again, turning his back on Draco. 

Harry scrunched his face up, whimpering slightly as he turned his head on the pillow. He clutched at the duvet, holding it as tightly as he had held the broomstick he'd flown from the Room of Requirement all those months ago. The heat behind him was becoming unbearable, he could feel the flames coming closer and closer.

"NO!" Overwhelmed with the panic he'd felt on that night, Harry awoke with a start. Sitting up, he groped wildly for his glasses but only found the soft pillow. 

"H—here." 

A hand pushed Harry's glasses into his hand and he put them on, his hand shaking slightly. He looked around and remembered where he was; Draco was sitting up beside him, looking paler than normal, not to mention terrified. 

Harry could feel his t-shirt sticking to him, soaked with sweat. His hands still shaking, he pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. His hair, though sticking limply to his forehead, stuck up at the back where the t-shirt had dragged it up. "Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't—"

"Don't," Draco replied, shaking his head. "I know." 

Harry fell silent, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He was visibly trembling. 

Draco shuffled closer. "What—do you want to talk about it?"

Harry shook his head before resting his chin on top of his knees. He shivered again. 

Draco moved even closer until their shoulders were pressed together, hoping to stop Harry from shivering.

"I thought I'd dropped you," Harry whispered a few moments later. "Off my broom. I—into the Fiendfyre." 

Draco swallowed and closed his eyes. He, too, still remembered that night, and it had featured in more than one of his nightmares. 

"Sorry I woke you," Harry continued, his voice soft. 

"It's okay," Draco replied, also in a soft voice. "I've had that nightmare too."

"I should have got some Dreamless Sleep when I got my t-shirt," Harry muttered. 

"Don't worry about it," Draco said, shaking his head. "There's only me here. Only I heard." 

"What time is it?" Harry asked softly. 

Draco turned to grab his wand, whispering _Lumos_ so that he could see his watch. "Nearly three o'clock." 

Harry pushed both hands under his glasses, covering his eyes with a groan. 

"We can be late to breakfast," Draco said, stifling a yawn. "It's Saturday tomorrow." 

Harry sighed, lowering his hands again and looking at Draco. "I don't want anyone to know." 

"I won't tell anyone," Draco replied. "We can still be late to breakfast. Do you feel like you can lie down again?" 

Harry nodded slowly. He took his glasses off once more, handing them to Draco before pushing himself back down the bed and into a lying position. His breathing was still quicker than normal and he could feel his heart still pounding madly. 

Draco put Harry's glasses back on the bedside table and then slid down beside Harry. Hesitantly, he pulled the duvet over them both and pressed close to Harry again. "Okay?" 

Harry nodded, watching the blurred outline of Draco as he laid down next to him. 

"I—I'm here," Draco said softly. "Everything will be okay." 

Harry nodded again. "Everything will be okay," he repeated. "Okay. Okay." 

Draco turned onto his side, his face close to Harry's on the pillow, and closed his eyes again. 

"Malfoy?" 

Harry's voice broke the silence this time, sounding harsh. 

Draco opened his eyes again. "Mm?"

"H—hold my hand?" Harry's cheeks burned with embarrassment as he spoke and he was glad of the darkness that hid him from view. "I—I need to know you're okay." 

Draco blinked in surprise but reached a hand down to take Harry's without saying a word. He knew all too well what Harry was feeling right now. He'd felt it himself, many times, but this felt different. He'd never had anyone to hold onto when he woke up from a nightmare because he hadn't been able to bring himself to tell anyone—not even Pansy. He lifted Harry's hand, keeping it gripped in his own, letting the joined hands rest between them on the pillow. 

Harry felt his heart rate slowing back to normal. The feeling of Draco's hand in his own was strange, yet comforting at the same time. He closed his eyes again now that he felt calmer and let sleep claim him once more. 

Draco watched Harry for a few moments. He watched as Harry closed his eyes slowly and listened as his breathing slowed to a normal rate again and only then did he close his own eyes. Holding Harry's hand was an alien concept to him, but surprisingly, their hands seemed to fit together as though they were meant to be. Draco found himself feeling comforted, even though he hadn't been the one to have a nightmare this time. On multiple occasions at home he'd wished there had been someone to hold onto after a nightmare, though it had taken long enough to admit this to himself that he hadn't been able to admit it to anyone else. 

Letting his thoughts run around in his mind, Draco drifted off to sleep again, Harry's hand still gripped in his own.

***

The next morning, Harry awoke with his hand still in Draco's and he blinked slowly. The embarrassment of having asked Draco to hold his hand came flooding back and Harry's cheeks burned once more. But he didn't withdraw his hand. Instead, he tried to focus on Draco's face as he continued to sleep. Close up, he could see that there was no tension marring Draco's features, not like during the day when they were in lessons. Harry had often noticed how tense Draco had looked during Charms and, particularly, the Defence study sessions. He decided he preferred the relaxed look that he could see now. 

Draco opened one eye, meeting Harry's gaze. "Morning," he mumbled. 

"Oh, er, morning," Harry replied, embarrassed at being caught looking at Draco. 

"Feeling all right?" Draco asked, opening his other eye now. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah… thank you for, you know…" 

Draco nodded. "I do know," he said. "Maybe… maybe we should see the Mind Healer?" 

Harry shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I'm not ready for that. I don't… I don't want to relive everything with a stranger." 

"All right, well… what about me?" Draco asked. "We… we could help each other because… I'm not ready to relive things with a stranger either." 

Harry considered Draco's request. "Would that mean no more arguing?" 

"I think I'd miss the arguing," Draco replied, giving Harry a half smile. "I reckon we'll still argue. It wouldn't be us if we didn't argue. Plus, if we're stuck with each other like this, we'll still have plenty of time for talking in private." 

"Sounds like the perfect compromise," Harry replied, before pausing. "Do you think this is weird?" 

"What? Us talking like we're friends?" Draco asked. 

"Well, yeah, I suppose," Harry said. "I mean, all we've done since being back here is argue. But now…" 

"I liked arguing with you because it felt normal," Draco said softly. "It felt like… none of the stuff from last year happened. I could forget while we were arguing." 

Harry couldn't help the smile that appeared. "That's what I thought too," he said. "There was no special treatment from you, and you didn't just… act like I'm the best thing since sliced bread like a lot of people do, and you don't treat me like I'm going to break."

"Why would I treat you like that?" Draco asked. "You're not some… delicate little flower or something. You're… well, you're probably one of the strongest people I've ever known. You've just… had a hard time." 

Harry snorted softly. "A hard time… that's not quite what I would call it." 

"Well no, but you know what I mean," Draco replied. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Thanks. I have my moments of weakness—like last night—and I'm not really embarrassed about them, but I don't want people treating me like I need protecting all the time." 

"I'd never treat you like that," Draco replied, absently using his thumb to stroke Harry's. "I have too much respect for what you've done." 

Harry looked down at their hands and smiled slightly. "Thanks… I appreciate it. For what it's worth, I wouldn't treat you that way either. You've been through just as much, if not more, than I have and have come out the other side." 

"For the better, I hope," Draco sighed. "I'm determined to be better now. Not as judgemental, and not putting as much… belief in the pureblood snobbery as my father did." 

"I'm pretty sure that sharing a bed with me is a start for that," Harry replied. "The judgemental bit anyway." 

Draco nodded. "I would never have done this when we were younger," he said. "But, now… having you here last night was actually quite comforting. Knowing that it's not just me having nightmares and being able to help you calm down after one kind of helps, if that makes sense?"

Harry nodded too. "I think it does," he said. "It felt easier talking to you about it all than Ron and Hermione, somehow. Neither of them still have nightmares, they told me. And they've both been to the Mind Healer." 

"Same with Pansy and Blaise," Draco said. "They don't understand why I haven't been yet. They don't know that my nightmares get so bad sometimes that I throw up. I haven't done that since being back here but it's just a matter of time." 

Harry shook his head. "I won't let it happen while we're stuck together like this," he said. "You can talk to me whenever you want." 

"Thank you," Draco replied softly, before falling silent. 

"What time is it?" Harry asked after a few moments. 

"You wear a watch," Draco said. "How come you never look at it?" 

"It doesn't work," Harry admitted. "Hasn't done since I wore it into the Great Lake in fourth year. I just wear it out of habit. Mrs Weasley did give me a new one, but I don't wear it all the time." 

"Why in Merlin's name did you wear it into the lake?" Draco asked incredulously. 

Harry shrugged. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight," he said. "Ron wasn't talking to me, I couldn't figure out what that bloody egg meant… you were being a pain…" 

"All right, all right," Draco muttered, turning his left wrist so he could read his watch. "Half eight." 

"We should probably go to breakfast then," Harry said, finally letting go of Draco's hand and pushing himself into a sitting position. 

Draco sat up too and handed Harry his glasses. "Bathroom first," he said. "I'm not going to breakfast unwashed and, no offence, but you stink." 

Harry snorted. "Thanks. all right, bathroom." 

They both slid out of the bed carefully and made their way to the bathroom where they managed to shower separately thanks to the way the cubicles were set out.

***

Once Harry and Draco were dressed again, they made their way to the Great Hall where they found Ron and Hermione sitting with Pansy, Blaise and Theo once more. 

Ron nudged Hermione as he caught sight of Harry and Draco arriving. "Hey, they're here." 

"At least they haven't smothered each other during the night," Pansy said, sounding relieved. 

"Did you really think they would?" Hermione asked, glancing at Pansy, who shook her head. 

"No, not really, but they've been arguing so much, you never know," Pansy replied. 

"All right you two?" Ron asked as Harry and Draco reached the table and sat down. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah… sorry we're late," he said, reaching out and grabbing some toast. 

"We had an… issue during the night," Draco added with a shrug. "So we slept in a bit. Nothing's wrong. We didn't think it would matter so much since it's the weekend." 

Hermione looked at Harry closely. 

"We're fine," Harry insisted as he lifted his head and caught her looking at him. "Honestly."

Hermione gave him a doubtful look but nodded. "All right," she said. "You'd better hurry and eat though. It's nearly nine. The food will disappear." 

Harry nodded and began eating his toast. 

"Pansy, stop it," Draco muttered, pushing her hand away as she attempted to smooth his hair. "I am fine. Potter is fine. We need to eat breakfast before we miss it." 

"Your hair is all over the place," Pansy frowned, clenching her hand slightly to stop herself from reaching out again. 

"It's because we came straight from having a shower," Draco replied. "I didn't have time to sort it out properly. I'll do it when we've had breakfast." 

"You showered together?" Ron exclaimed, looking at Harry with wide eyes. 

Harry rolled his eyes. "We were in separate cubicles," he said. "They're close enough that the magic let us do that." 

"Oh," Ron said, flushing. 

"Anyway, even if we were in the same cubicle, all we did was get washed," Draco said. "We're adults. We can shower together without getting carried away." 

Ron coughed as he choked on the bit of toast he was eating. "What?" 

Draco shrugged. "It's true."

Harry had paused mid bite as Draco had spoken, looking at him thoughtfully. Then he shrugged and nodded before continuing to eat his toast. 

Hermione also looked between Harry and Draco thoughtfully. "Did something else happen during the night?" 

"Like what?" Harry asked, frowning. "We slept. That's it." 

Draco nodded, popping the last bit of toast into his mouth. "That's it." 

Hermione narrowed her eyes at them. "You seem different, that's all," she said. 

Harry sighed. "We might have talked a bit," he said. "Realised that… maybe the other isn't so bad." 

Draco caught his eye and smiled, nodding. "Not so bad is right." 

Hermione shook her head slightly. "Whatever," she said. "I'm going for a walk. Ron, are you coming?"

Ron nodded and stood up, giving Harry another odd look. "Yeah," he said. "We'll see you two later." 

Harry nodded, starting on another piece of toast. 

"We're going too, Draco," Pansy said, as she and Blaise also stood up. "Don't be too long." 

"I'll be as long as it takes to eat this bacon," Draco said as he picked up a rasher of bacon. 

"Yes, well, you seem a bit _distracted_ this morning," Pansy pointed out, before turning on her heel and following Ron and Hermione out of the hall. 

Harry looked at Draco. "Do you get the feeling that they think something is going on between us?" 

Draco nodded. "A little bit, yes," he said. Then he shrugged. "I don't care what they think."

Harry considered this before shaking his head. "Neither do I," he said, realising it was true. 

"Good," Draco replied, putting the bacon into his mouth. "If we're on the same page, it'll be easier to wind them up."

"Wind them up? What do you have in mind?" Harry asked, pausing with a fork full of bacon halfway to his mouth. 

"Let them think there's something going on between us," Draco replied matter-of-factly. "It'll keep them off our backs while we figure this whole thing out." 

"Seriously?" Harry asked. "You actually want to do that?" 

"Why not?" Draco asked. "Don't they say that opposites attract? Who is more opposite than you and I?" 

"Well… I suppose that's true," Harry nodded, finally putting the bacon into his mouth. "I'm just surprised you'd want people to think there's something between us." 

Draco shrugged again. "I'm surprised you wouldn't want people to think that," he said. "We're beautiful people, why wouldn't we be together?" 

Harry snorted. "That was ridiculously cheesy, you know that, right?" 

Draco grinned in response and Harry realised, with a start, that it was the first time he'd seen a genuine smile on Draco's face. Looking at Draco, he was struck with the thought that he really was quite attractive. He decided that he could, quite easily, pretend there was something between the two of them. 

"All right. Let's do it," Harry said, nodding as he swallowed the last of his bacon. 

Draco smiled and finished his bacon too. "Should we go and find them now, then?" 

"I'm ready when you are," Harry said with another nod. 

"Let's go. We can show up holding hands," Draco said, standing up and climbing over the bench. 

Harry chuckled and followed Draco out of the Great Hall. "Are you sure holding hands will do the trick?" 

"I want to see if any of them will mention it," Draco said over his shoulder. "I'll bet that Pansy can't help herself." 

"Hmm," Harry hummed. "I'm not sure I'll take that bet. You know her too well. Ron will want to say something, but Hermione will stop him." 

"How far do you think we'll be able to push them?" Draco asked as they crossed the entrance hall and headed out of the door. 

"I don't know. How far do we _want_ to push them?" Harry asked. "They're our friends, we want them on our side." 

"I know, but we want them to believe that we're seeing each other, don't we," Draco pointed out. "We need to be believable." 

"Yeah, but after one night?" Harry asked. "We're not going to be madly in love after one night!" 

"No, I suppose not," Draco frowned. "Well, maybe not hand holding then, but being close enough that our hands are practically linked?" 

"That sounds better," Harry nodded. "Definitely more believable than being all over each other." 

"This weekend is going to be the longest weekend of my life," Draco sighed. "I hope you know that."

"You're not the only one," Harry muttered. "I wanted to go to The Three Broomsticks tomorrow." 

"I can't go there," Draco said immediately. "I can't face Madam Rosmerta." 

Harry paused, glancing sideways at Draco. "Haven't you apologised to her?" 

"Yes, but I'm still… I don't think I could sit in her pub and be comfortable," Draco said, frowning as he struggled to explain himself.

"All right," Harry said, nodding after a moment. "We'll stay here. Maybe there'll be someone on the Quidditch field that we can watch." 

Draco nodded, but didn't say anything. 

"Oh, look, there they are," Harry said, spotting Ron, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise on the shore of the lake. "Come closer." 

Draco glanced up and automatically moved closer to Harry as they approached their friends. He let his fingers graze Harry's as they walked.


	4. Chapter 4

"You two took your time!" Ron called as he caught sight of Harry and Draco. "Good breakfast?" he asked, eyeing their hands. 

"Yeah, it was good." Harry nodded. "Glad we didn't miss out." 

"Did you eat enough, Draco?" Pansy asked, catching up to Draco and taking his arm. 

"Pansy, will you please stop worrying about how much I'm eating." Draco sighed, half-heartedly tugging his arm out of her grasp. 

"You got so thin," Pansy said in a hurt tone. "I don't want it happening again." 

"I know." Draco sighed, putting his arm around her and giving her a squeeze. "It won't happen again, this year is different. This year is better," he added, throwing a glance at Harry. 

Pansy didn't miss the glance, looking between Harry and Draco. "Are you sure?" she asked softly. 

Draco nodded. "Yes, I am." 

"Okay." Pansy nodded. "Don't forget about me, will you?" 

"How could I forget about you?" Draco asked, frowning at her. "You're my best friend and you always will be." 

"Yes, but you've never had a boyfriend before," Pansy said, dropping her voice. "You might want to spend all your time with him." 

"There'll always be room for you," Draco promised. "Any boyfriend of mine will know you're part of the deal." 

Harry, walking on the other side of Draco smiled to himself. Clearly their plan was working. He linked one finger with Draco's briefly before letting it drop. 

Half an hour later, the group had done three laps of the lake and Harry was bored. He caught Draco's arm. "I'm going in now," he said. "I really need to do that essay." 

Draco made a show of sighing. "All right, I suppose you want me to come with you?" 

"Yes, please," Harry said. "Considering we can't be apart." 

Draco nodded. "Pansy, we're going in now," he called ahead to where Pansy and Blaise were walking. "See you later." 

Pansy eyed Harry with suspicion before nodding. "All right, see you this afternoon." 

"Ron, Hermione, we're heading in," Harry said, turning to his friends. "See you at lunch, probably." 

"All right mate," Ron replied, giving him a wave. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he added, giving Harry a wink before being elbowed hard in the ribs by Hermione. 

Harry felt a blush rise on his face as he waved a hand and turned away from Ron again. 

"So far so good," Draco murmured as they headed back to the school.

"Apparently so," Harry replied. "Don't you think it's weird how quickly they accepted the idea?" 

"Before everything last year, I would have said yes," Draco replied. "But not now. Everyone is… different. I think everyone is trying to be more… open minded." 

Harry nodded thoughtfully, coming to a stop in the entrance hall. "Where are we going, by the way?" 

Draco raised an eyebrow. "_You_ wanted to do your essay," he said. "So where _are_ we going?"

"Oh yeah… library? Or common room?" Harry suggested, glancing at Draco. 

"If we go to the library, there will be people there," Draco said, making a face. 

"There will be people in the common room too," Harry pointed out. 

"Yes, but _those_ people will leave us alone," Draco said. "The ones in the library won't." 

"Common room it is then." Harry shrugged, heading for the door to their common room, Draco following. 

They spent the rest of Saturday studying, only breaking for lunch and dinner. By the time they went to bed that night, Harry's Potions essay was complete and they had made progress on their Charms assignment. 

Before climbing into bed, Harry took a small dose of Dreamless Sleep. He wanted to minimise his chances of having a nightmare, but also didn't want to sleep through Draco having one. Not after Draco had helped him through the one he'd had the previous night. He'd offered Draco some Dreamless Sleep, but he had turned it down quite vehemently. 

"I don't like taking sleeping potions," Draco had insisted. "I don't like… I know it sounds silly, but I don't like _not_ being in control."

"It's not silly at all," Harry said, shaking his head. "I'm not taking a full dose. You'll still be able to wake me up if you need to." 

"Okay, good," Draco replied, nodding as he laid down. 

Harry placed his glasses on his bedside table that he and Draco had dragged over earlier that day and laid down too, shuffling a bit closer to Draco. The feeling of having someone close by was comforting as he closed his eyes, and they both awoke the next morning having had an uneventful night.

***

Monday morning arrived and Harry woke up early, thankful that he'd slept through once more. He knew that taking Dreamless Sleep shouldn't be a permanent solution, but the thought of having another nightmare made sure he kept taking it. 

Draco gave a moan as he rolled over. "Why is it Monday already?" 

"I know," Harry grunted. "I'm knackered." 

"How are _you_ knackered?" Draco asked, cracking one eye open and looking at Harry. "You weren't the one tossing and turning all night." 

"Did you have a nightmare?" Harry asked, immediately feeling more awake. 

"No." Draco tutted. "I wish I had, it would have made the restlessness worth it." 

"What kept you awake? Was I snoring?" Harry asked with a frown. 

"I don't think so," Draco replied, also frowning. "I don't know what it was, but I didn't enjoy it." 

"Do you need another hour?" Harry asked, lifting Draco's arm to look at his watch. "It's only seven. We've got plenty of time." 

"I'll try," Draco sighed. "But I don't suppose it'll happen." 

"You, er, you can hold my hand if you think it'll help," Harry offered, holding his hand out. 

Draco regarded it for a moment, before taking it. "It's worth a try," he said, closing his eyes again. "Set an alarm, please." 

Harry tutted but then muttered a spell which would raise an alarm for them in an hour's time. Then he closed his eyes too, giving Draco's hand an inadvertent squeeze.

Within moments, both boys had fallen back asleep, their breathing slow and even. Draco slept soundly, holding onto Harry's hand. 

An hour and a quarter later, the alarm squawking, Harry woke with a start. He grabbed his wand and cancelled the alarm spell before grabbing Draco's wrist. "Malfoy! Wake up!" he said, placing his hand on Draco's chest and shaking him slightly. "We've slept in!"

"Again?" Draco asked, suddenly awake as he sat up. "You were supposed to set an alarm!" 

"I _did_! We slept through it!" Harry replied, grabbing his glasses from the table and shoving them on. 

"Oh, great!" Draco groaned, shoving the duvet away. "How quick can you get dressed?" 

"Quicker if you stop talking to me," Harry said pointedly, grabbing his clothes from the floor and pulling them on. He was thankful that he'd added a clean pair of boxer shorts to the pile the night before. 

Draco made a face at him as he pulled his own trousers on. 

Within five minutes, they were on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. As they walked through the door, they could see the now familiar group of Ron, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise sitting together, with Theo sitting beside Ron. 

"Oh, look who finally made it," Ron said as Harry and Draco dropped onto the benches on opposite sides of the table. "You're lucky, mate. Parkinson wanted to come and find you." 

Draco gave Pansy a look. "Really?" 

"You are over half an hour later than normal, Draco!" Pansy exclaimed. "I thought you were going to miss breakfast!" 

Draco rolled his eyes and began loading his plate with food, lest it disappeared. 

Harry shook his head, starting to do the same. "We just slept in." 

Hermione, who had been watching them closely, shook her head slightly. "I'm going to Potions. Come on, Ron."

Ron nodded and stood up, giving Harry another odd look. "See you two there." 

Harry nodded, starting to eat a piece of toast. 

"We're going now too, Draco," Pansy said, as she, Blaise and Theo also stood up. "Don't be late." 

"When have I ever been late to Potions?" Draco asked as he picked up a rasher of bacon. 

"You'd never been late to breakfast until recently," Pansy pointed out, before turning on her heel and following Ron and Hermione out of the hall.

Harry watched them go before turning to Draco. "She definitely thinks there's something going on between us doesn't she?" 

Draco nodded. "Yes. She told me the other day," he said. "She's worried I'll forget about her if I have a boyfriend." 

"How can you forget about her when she's always there?" Harry asked, swallowing the last of his bacon. 

Draco grinned and took another bite of his toast. "Exactly. There's no way I'd forget about her anyway," he said. "She's my best friend. She's part of the package for anyone I go out with." 

"Good job I knew that when I agreed to this, isn't it?" Harry said, grinning as he put his fork down. "Ready for Potions now then?" 

Draco nodded, putting the last bit of his toast in his mouth. "Yeah, let's go. I can't be late after bragging that I'm never late," he said, getting up and heading for the door.

Harry laughed, following Draco out of the Great Hall and hoisting his bag onto his shoulder as he went. "Hey, I've just realised, if I'm sitting with _you_ during Potions, I might not do so badly!"

"Don't think I'm going to let you copy my work, Potter," Draco said over his shoulder. "You'll never learn that way. I _may_ assist you though." 

"Hmm," Harry hummed. "I'll take that. It'll still be more helpful than me trying to do it all myself." 

"Of course it will be," Draco replied. "I've seen your work, remember. With the exception of sixth year, you were acceptable at best." 

"Yeah, well, I'd have done better if Snape hadn't been determined to see me fail," Harry said, before shaking his head. "No, I don't really mean that. That's just what it felt like at the time."

Draco nodded as he continued down a corridor to the dungeons. "I can believe that," he said. "He did seem to pick on you a bit." 

"A bit?! He took great pleasure in making me look like an idiot," Harry exclaimed. "I'm still not really sure why he did that." 

"Me neither," Draco replied. "You did a good enough job of it by yourself." 

"Hey!" Harry pushed Draco's shoulder as they reached the door to the classroom. 

Draco simply threw a grin over his shoulder and pushed the door open. 

Harry felt his stomach give a pleasant lurch as Draco grinned at him, and hurried to follow him into the classroom. 

Draco moved through the desks and paused as he spotted Theo sitting in Pansy's usual place. "What are you doing there?" he asked with a frown. "You need to move. Potter is sitting there." 

Theo gave Draco an offended look. "You're making me move for _him_?" 

"Yes," Draco replied shortly. "Move." 

Harry, who had opened his mouth to protest at Theo's tone, shut it again and watched as Draco glared at Theo until he got up and moved to sit beside Anthony Goldstein. 

"Thank you," Draco said as Theo moved. He sat down and got his textbook out before looking up at Harry. "What are you waiting for? Sit down." 

Harry blinked and sat beside Draco without protesting. "It's quite impressive really," he said as he got his own textbook out, placing his wand beside it. 

"What is?" Draco asked with a sideways glance. 

"The power you have over your friends," Harry replied. "He didn't even really complain when you told him to move." 

"Not everyone is as stubborn as you, Potter," Draco said pointedly. "I would have had no trouble getting Nott to move beds." 

"Yes, well, lucky I'm not as easily persuaded really, isn't it?" Harry answered lightly, giving Draco a small smile. He could feel the eyes of their friends on them and decided to put their plan into action, leaning a bit closer to Draco. 

"Mm, I suppose it is," Draco nodded, before turning his attention to the front of the class where Professor Slughorn had just arrived. 

"Good morning, class," Slughorn said as he rounded his desk. He paused as his gaze fell on Harry and Draco. 

Harry sat back in his own chair and did his best to look innocent, as did Draco, as they gazed back. 

Slughorn studied them for a few more moments before seeming to remember what they were there for. "Books out everyone, please! Turn to page five hundred and two where you will find the recipe for the Ageing Potion." 

Harry and Draco obediently opened their books, turned to the page in question and began to read.

***

Over the next few weeks, Harry and Draco continued to spend every minute together as a result of the charm, their nightmares lessening with each passing week as they spent a lot of time talking through the events of the past couple of years. Ron and Hermione got used to Harry not being around as much, and when he was, Draco being in tow. Pansy, though she still occasionally protested the lack of attention for her, also got used to the new group dynamic and, if she was honest, thought that Harry and Draco were good for each other (not that she would tell _them_ that). 

Two weeks into October, their Potions class had moved onto the Anti-Ageing Potion, and today was the day they'd be brewing it. Working at the same station meant that Harry could continue checking his work with Draco. 

Draco had flatly refused to do the work for Harry but had been happy to give his essays a once-over to confirm they were good. He'd had a surprise while reading the first one, realising that Harry actually _did_ know what he was doing. He'd thought sixth year was a fluke.

As Harry bent over his cauldron, stirring the potion precisely four times in an anti-clockwise direction and then six and a half times in a clockwise direction, Draco found himself watching the hair at the nape of Harry's neck as it curled in the humidity of the Potions lab. He wondered how soft that hair would be if he were to touch it. Shaking his head, he quickly looked back at his own cauldron, catching his potion just in time. 

Harry glanced up at the hiss that Draco let out. "Are you okay?" 

"Fine, fine," Draco replied, waving his hand at Harry. "Just… got distracted, that's all. It's fine, I got it just in time."

For the rest of the class, Draco forced himself to ignore Harry, despite having to work in such close proximity to him, and at the end of the class they were rewarded with five points each for having perfectly brewed potions. He couldn't help but return the delighted grin that Harry gave him. The excitement shining in Harry's eyes betrayed the calm exterior he was showing. 

It was a week later that he and Harry missed breakfast completely and still hadn't turned up ten minutes into Potions. Pansy stormed into the boys' dormitory and ripped aside the hangings around Draco's bed. The angry tirade she'd been running through in her mind died in her throat as she caught sight of the two boys sleeping peacefully, their hands tangled together between them. She pulled the hangings back around the bed and tiptoed out of the room. 

"Did you find them?" Hermione asked, as Pansy slipped back into the Potions lab. 

"Yes," Pansy replied, sitting down and trying her best to look like she'd been there the whole time. "They're fast asleep." 

"And you didn't wake them?" Hermione asked incredulously. "They're _missing_ Potions!" 

"I didn't have the heart to," Pansy sighed, turning to look at Hermione fully. "I haven't seen Draco look so peaceful for a long time. Potter too. I thought that, maybe, they deserved a lie-in." 

Hermione looked doubtful, but nodded all the same. "I suppose you're right," she said. "Do you think they're talking to each other about what happened last year?" 

"Probably," Pansy said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit hurt that Draco couldn't talk to me, but… I'm glad he's talking to _someone_."

Hermione nodded. "I know what you mean," she said. "Harry was so insistent about not going to the Mind Healer, I was worried about him. I thought he might, you know, have a breakdown." 

"Draco was the same," Pansy replied. "He was so withdrawn during last year here, he wouldn't even tell me what he was up to." 

"Harry always suspected he was up to something." Hermione sighed. "Ron and I thought he was just… carrying on their rivalry, you know, _wanting_ him to be up to something just so he could confront him."

Pansy nodded. "I know," she said softly. "I always wondered what would have happened if they'd been friends in first year."

"I think, maybe, we've found out," Hermione said, lifting an eyebrow slightly. "All that arguing at the start of term and now… did you know Malfoy was… you know, gay?" 

Pansy nodded again. "Yes," she said, lowering her voice slightly. "He told me years ago."

"Harry never said anything," Hermione said, looking slightly hurt. 

"Maybe he didn't know?" Pansy replied, shrugging. "Maybe he's just figuring it out now that he's being forced to spend time with Draco." 

"Maybe," Hermione conceded, nodding slightly. "I didn't think of that." 

"I think they're good together," Pansy whispered conspiratorially, eyeing Hermione. "Don't you?" 

Hermione paused before nodding. "Yes," she said softly. "Don't tell them." 

Pansy grinned. "Our secret." 

In the dormitory, Harry stirred and stifled a yawn. He blinked and groped on the bedside table for his glasses. Once he'd found them, he pushed them on to his nose and lifted Draco's wrist to look at his watch. He blinked as he looked at the watch face, hoping he was seeing things. "Malfoy… Malfoy, wake up!" 

Draco grunted softly and opened one eye, his hair obscuring his vision. "What?" 

"We've missed breakfast… and we're missing Potions right now," Harry said, looking down at Draco with panic on his face. 

"So what?" Draco mumbled, speaking mostly into the pillow. "I don't want to leave this bed today." 

"Why not?" Harry asked, frowning slightly. "We'll need to eat…" 

Draco closed his eye again. "This will probably sound stupid to you," he muttered. 

Harry turned onto his side to look at Draco. "Try me," he said softly. 

"It's the nineteenth," Draco said, opening his eye once more and looking at Harry. "I had Madam Rosmerta pass that necklace to Katie on the nineteenth." 

Harry made an 'o' shape with his mouth as he remembered what Draco was talking about. "You remember the date?" he asked in a whisper after a few moments of silence. 

"Yes," Draco whispered back. "Like I said, it probably sounds stupid to you, but…" 

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't sound stupid," he said. "We've all got things that stick with us for one reason or another." 

"You mean that?" Draco asked, still looking at Harry with the one eye he had open. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Halloween is always rough for me. We can stay here if you really want to, but… wouldn't it help take your mind off it if we went to lessons?" 

Draco shook his head. "Not this morning," he said, a pleading tone appearing in his voice. 

"All right… what about lunch?" Harry asked. 

"Maybe," Draco said softly. "Can we… let's go back to sleep." 

"I'll try," Harry replied, removing his glasses once more and putting them back on the bedside table. He slid down so that he was lying next to Draco once more. He reached out and took Draco's hand again, wanting to offer some comfort. 

Draco gave Harry's hand a grateful squeeze and closed his eyes again. He'd worried about this date coming around. He couldn't explain why it affected him so much, but the memory of what he'd done a couple of years previously had haunted him since. He knew he could never make up for it, but he was prepared to try.

The next time Harry awoke, it was nearly lunchtime. Looking across at Draco, he took the opportunity to study all the small details of Draco's face that he didn't usually get a chance to look at—the minute freckles that adorned his cheeks and were only visible up close, the tiny scar that was just visible on the arch of his left eyebrow—Harry wondered how the scar came to be. He was gazing so intently at it that he didn't notice Draco open his eyes. 

"What are you looking at?" Draco croaked, going slightly cross-eyed as he tried to focus on Harry, who jumped violently. 

"Sorry," Harry said softly, his heart pounding as he recovered from the shock of being caught staring. "I didn't know you were awake." 

"I wasn't. I am now," Draco replied, blinking. "What were you looking at?" 

"That scar on your eyebrow," Harry admitted, feeling his cheeks turn pink as he spoke. "Wondering how you got it." 

"Oh, that." Draco sighed, shifting slightly. "I fell off my toy broom and hit my head on the hearth. Dobby healed me but I still have the scar." 

"I've never noticed it before," Harry admitted. 

"Well, we never got close enough before now." Draco sighed. "I can't even see it if I stand too far away from the mirror." 

Harry smiled. "No, I suppose you're right," he said.

"And if we're talking about not noticing things," Draco continued, "I'd never noticed how curly your hair is in places. I just thought it was messy." 

Harry chuckled softly. "It's mostly messy. It only curls around the edges, really." 

"I know," Draco said. "It distracted me from my potion last week." 

Harry blinked at him, unsure what to say. He settled for shrugging. "Sorry."

"Do you want to go for lunch?" Draco asked, opting to change the subject.

"Do you?" Harry asked, lifting one hand and resting his head on it. 

"I think I do," Draco nodded. "I feel better somehow." 

"Come on then," Harry said, sitting up. "The bell will be going soon." 

The next few minutes were spent in silence as they concentrated on getting dressed, and before long, they were leaving the eighth year common room and heading into the Great Hall, ready for the inevitable questions.

***

The rest of October passed fairly uneventfully by comparison, and the warmth of Autumn gave way to the approaching Winter chill as November arrived. 

After dinner one evening, the eighth year students were all in their common room and the weather was particularly grim outside. 

Ron and Hermione were sitting together in one of the larger armchairs, both reading books; Hermione was reading a thick Arithmancy textbook and Ron was reading an autobiography of Ragmar Dorkins, the former Chudley Cannons manager. 

Pansy was sitting on the floor, her back to the sofa as she read over her Astronomy essay. Harry was on the sofa, with Draco laid beside him, his head in Harry's lap.They weren't doing anything, just sitting in comfortable silence. Harry found his hand dropping to run through Draco's hair absentmindedly. 

Blaise and Theo were engaged in a game of chess beside the window, where the only sounds that could be heard were those of the chess pieces smashing each other up. 

Draco gave a contented sigh, his eyes closing slowly. 

Pansy tipped her head back against the sofa cushion and looked sideways at Draco and Harry. "Have you asked Flitwick to remove the magic again?" she asked. 

Draco opened his eyes with a start, but was immediately soothed by Harry's hand in his hair. "No," he said. "Not for a while, anyway." 

"Why not?" Pansy asked. "You've proved that you can get along by now, haven't you? You haven't had a proper argument in weeks." 

"We haven't really thought about it," Harry replied. "We've had too much work on." 

Hermione looked up. "Maybe you should ask him tomorrow," she said. "It'll need to be removed before exams start anyway. You can't be right next to each other when we're being tested."

"No, we know we can't," Harry said. "We'll ask him soon." 

"Make sure you do," Pansy said, wondering if she could get them to admit to what was going on between them. "You must be getting sick of each other by now." 

Harry made a non-committal noise in his throat, continuing to stroke Draco's hair. 

"I'm tired," Draco announced, sitting up. "Let's go to bed, Potter."

Pansy frowned, knowing that this was Draco's way of saying he was tired of the way the conversation was going rather than actually being tired. She didn't say anything as he and Harry stood up and headed for the dormitory. 

"G'night," Harry said to the room in general as Draco disappeared through the door. A chorus of murmured replies followed him as he also disappeared through the door. Once in the dormitory, he looked at Draco. "All right, what was that about? You're not actually tired, are you?" 

Draco shook his head. "No. I just don't want to have another conversation with Pansy about how we haven't had the magic removed yet," he said. "She's jealous." 

"Of what?" Harry asked, frowning in confusion as he joined Draco on their shared bed. 

"You," Draco replied. "You're always with me and she's used to having me to herself. She doesn't like being pushed out, so telling me that she doesn't want me to forget about her is her way of reminding me of that." 

"But that isn't our fault," Harry said. "It's the spell." 

"I know that, and so does she," Draco answered. "But I think that she thinks we should have done more to get Flitwick to remove it." 

"Do _you_ think we should have?" Harry asked, pushing a pillow behind his back and leaning against the headboard. 

"Maybe," Draco said, shuffling around to sit next to Harry. "I just… never thought it was a priority, did you?" 

"Not after he told us he wouldn't remove it," Harry replied. "I suppose I just… resigned myself to being stuck with you." 

"It hasn't been bad though," Draco said. "I've been sleeping so much better since I've been sharing a bed with you. I know I've had the odd nightmare but… they've not been anywhere near as bad as they were before." 

"Same here," Harry said softly. "That first one was awful. But the next one was nowhere near as bad, and knowing you were there really helped." 

"Maybe we _should_ ask him to remove it now," Draco sighed. "I think it's safe to say we're not going to go back to arguing once it's removed." 

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think we are either," he said. "In fact… this pretending thing?" 

"Mm?" Draco hummed, looking across at Harry. 

"I don't think I'm pretending anymore," Harry whispered, his eyes searching Draco's face. "Even though we haven't… I mean—" 

Draco silenced Harry's words by leaning across and kissing him, gently at first but becoming more insistent as Harry kissed back. 

"Me neither," Draco whispered as they parted, panting slightly, foreheads pressed together. 

Harry began to laugh softly. "You don't think Flitwick planned this do you?" 

"I hope not," Draco said. "How weird would that be? Trying to set students up." 

"Well, when you put it like that," Harry said, still chuckling. "I know he was probably just hoping we'd start talking and stop arguing, but I'm betting he didn't expect this." 

"I don't think anyone would have expected this," Draco replied. "I know I didn't." 

"Neither did I," Harry admitted. "But… it kind of feels right after these last few weeks." 

"I know what you mean." Draco nodded. "It's not what I thought I'd be getting out of this year." 

Harry shook his head. "No, same here," he said. "I didn't even really know that… I might like… might be gay," he added, giving Draco a confused look. 

"I didn't know you might be either," Draco said, trying to reassure Harry. "This… wasn't my intention." 

Harry bit his lip slightly. "I don't regret it," he said. "I don't." 

"I don't either," Draco said. "I think that, maybe, this could have been the best thing to happen to me this year." 

Harry gave Draco a smile. "Me too… after last year, this is something I never thought would happen," he said. 

Draco shifted and slid down slightly so that his head rested on Harry's shoulder. "Should we feel more weird about sleeping in the same bed now?" 

"I don't know," Harry said. "But, at this point, I think it would feel weirder to not sleep in the same bed." 

"Good point," Draco replied. 

Harry chuckled and slid his arm around Draco. "I think we should go to sleep now, then," he said. "Or at least try. We've had no nightmares this week, hopefully we're not due one." 

Draco groaned softly. "I hope not," he said. "It's been nice getting some proper sleep." 

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it has," he said. "I'd like to think I'm over the worst of the nightmares now." 

"Me too," Draco agreed, sliding off the bed. "Get changed then. We need to put the Silencing Charms up." 

Harry slid off the bed too and got changed into his sleepwear. He folded his clothes and piled them on a chair.

Draco smirked. "It's good to see I've had some sort of influence on you in the last few weeks," he said, nodding at Harry's clothes. 

"Oh shut it," Harry grinned. "I was fed up of tripping over them on the floor."

"I am not surprised in the least," Draco said, climbing into bed. 

Harry shook his head and climbed in beside Draco with a grin. "Don't go on about it."

"I won't," Draco replied. "At least not for too long." 

Harry snorted. "That sounds about right," he said.

Draco gave an innocent shrug. "Do you need any Dreamless Sleep?" 

Harry shook his head. "No," he said. "I've been sleeping all right when I haven't had as big a dose, so I want to try without the potion tonight." 

"Okay," Draco nodded. "Well, I'll be beside you. If you do have a nightmare, just wake me up." 

"You'll wake up anyway," Harry said, sighing softly. "It's not like I have quiet nightmares." 

"They have been a bit quieter the last couple of times," Draco said. "It's been easier to wake you." 

"Well, that has to be a good thing, doesn't it?" Harry sighed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm making progress with them, then I have another one, and it feels like I'm right back at square one."

"I know," Draco said, shifting onto his side and taking Harry's hand, as had become their ritual. "I feel the same when I have one. Especially if I go quite a few days without having one." 

"Do you think we're destined to have them forever?" Harry asked thoughtfully. "Like, will we ever fully escape them?" 

"I hope we will," Draco said. "I don't want to be reliving that nightmare sporadically throughout my life." 

"No, neither do I," Harry replied. "I'm hoping we'll grow out of them." 

"Hopefully," Draco nodded. "If we talk them over like we have been doing, then I expect we won't be as affected by them." 

Harry looked at Draco for a moment. "Have you ever thought about becoming a Healer when you leave here?" 

Draco blinked. "Where did that come from?" 

"Just answer the question," Harry said. 

Draco paused and then nodded. "I have considered it," he said. "I could do it if I get top marks in my chosen subjects." 

"I think you'd be good at it," Harry said, glancing down at their hands. "Especially at the mind healing stuff." 

Draco shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure about that." 

"I am," Harry replied. "You've been really good at talking me through my nightmares when I've had them, and talking everything over when we've been alone has really helped me… move on a bit." 

Draco's cheeks turned pink at Harry's words. "Yeah, but you've helped me just as much," he said softly. "I'm not sure I would get through this year if you weren't here. I might have left after the first week." 

"Pansy wouldn't have let you leave," Harry said. 

"She wouldn't have been able to stop me," Draco said. "Before we got paired together in Charms, I was starting to get annoyed by all the whispering that went on every time I passed people in the corridors." 

"People still whisper now," Harry replied. 

"I know, but it's for a different reason now," Draco said. "Now it's because I'm with you, not because I'm 'that Death Eater'." 

"I suppose that's better," Harry said thoughtfully. 

"It's definitely better," Draco replied. "It doesn't feel as… malicious." 

"Good," Harry smiled. "Hogwarts is supposed to be home to us all."

"It used to feel a lot more like home when we were in first year," Draco sighed. "It's getting back to that now, I think. I wish we could go back to when we were eleven though. I don't think I made the most of my time here." 

"Me too," Harry said softly. "Although I don't know if I'd do things differently, knowing what I know now." 

"I would," Draco said immediately. "I would do a _lot_ differently."

Harry gave him a small smile. "I don't think we've done too bad, you know. I know things got a bit messy, but we could have come out of it a lot worse." 

"Or not come out of it at all," Draco replied in a whisper. "Too many people died, Harry." 

"I know," Harry sighed, squeezing Draco's hand gently. "Believe me, I know. But we're the lucky ones." 

"I know," Draco whispered. "And I'm so grateful that I… that I didn't end up like Crabbe." 

"I'm sorry we couldn't save him," Harry replied softly. "I know the fire was his fault, but that doesn't mean he deserved what happened." 

"I don't think I'd be as close friends with him if he'd survived," Draco said softly. "We had a few… disagreements before we ended up in the Room of Requirement." 

"I know," Harry said. "He wanted to kill me. You wouldn't let him."

"I never wanted you dead," Draco continued. "Despite how it might have seemed at one point. I didn't really want anybody dead." 

"And that's why I knew you didn't deserve Azkaban," Harry said softly. "You weren't, _aren't_, evil. You're not the same as your father—not that he's truly evil either, but you know what I mean." 

Draco nodded. "Yes, I think I do," he said. 

Harry gave Draco another small smile. 

Draco met Harry's gaze. "Can I kiss you again?" he asked softly. 

Harry felt a fluttering in his stomach as he nodded, tilting his head towards Draco. 

Draco cupped the back of Harry's neck with his free hand as their lips met once more in a gentle kiss. 

Parting a few seconds later, Harry smiled again and shifted so that he was laid impossibly close to Draco, their hands still linked. 

Draco gave a contented sigh. "Tomorrow morning, we'll go to Flitwick before breakfast," he murmured. "And then we can tell everyone." 

"About this?" Harry asked softly. 

"Well, not in detail," Draco replied. "But maybe that we were pretending but now we're not." 

Harry chuckled. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "But for now… sleep?" 

"Sleep," Draco nodded, turning onto his side so that his back was pressed against Harry's chest. He made sure that their hands were still joined, pulling Harry's arm across himself as they closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep, smiles on their faces.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for viewing! You can show your appreciation for the artist in a comment below. ♥
> 
> This story is part of HD Erised, an on-going anonymous fest. The author will be revealed January 10th.


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